FEEL THE G-FORCE!
Gerrard: THIS is my medicine... happy players
STEVEN GERRARD’S Midas touch set Villa Park bouncing as he jumped back into the Premier League with a bang.
Aston Villa’s new boss stopped the slide after five straight defeats thanks to late goals from Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings as the Holte End jubilantly welcomed their man.
But it was his timely second-half substitutions that eventually turned the tide after Brighton handed down a lesson in possession football.
Villa were going nowhere midway through the second half when Gerrard decided to replace Danny Ings with Ashley Young.
He switched Watkins inside from his role on the left flank too – and the switch-up worked perfectly.
Young set Watkins clear to grab the first goal of the new manager’s reign with six minutes left to set up a victory that Mings confirmed in the dying moments.
Gerrard celebrated as if he had been claret and blue all his life – instead of for less than one week – when Mings’ right-foot finish hit the net for 2-0.
The new Villa boss said: “This was a big week – a big game for the team on the back of losing five.
“So my feelings are a mixture of excitement and pride.
“I can’t be any more proud of the players. The players have followed the instructions. They’ve done everything we asked them to. We were a bit tense at times but I thought we finished strongly.
“The substitutes brought a lot. We’ve got a lot of things to build on. In time, we will become stronger, grow and get better.”
Asked about his approach on the sidelines, he added: “I was trying to control my emotions but ended up kicking every ball!
“I want to coach the side. I want to be visible, to help them, guide them and instil in them what was inside me as a player – that will-towin, that drive.
“These are the buzzes, the highs you miss after being a player. That’s why I wanted to stay in the game.
“This is my medicine. I love seeing the players happy and smiling. I want to help these players
be the best version of themselves. I’ll always be authentic.”
Despite Brighton’s overwhelming possession, they created very little, with Villa keeper Emi Martinez called into action just twice in the first half.
And not at all in the second.
Villa hadn’t created much, either. They’d chased and harried but were struggling until the Seagulls overplayed, Young capitalised and Watkins cashed in.
He cut inside and, with the help of an intelligent run from another sub, Anwar El Ghazi, fired a right-foot drive into the corner of the net from the edge of the area. Villa Park erupted and Gerrard mirrored those celebrations. But that was merely a warm-up.
With the clock running down, Villa went for the kill. Brighton’s composure deserted them and, with the Holte End scenting blood, Mings kept the ball in play near the touchline.
It was fed back to John Mcginn, who saw two claret shirts queuing up at the far post. Adam Webster attempted to clear but succeeded only in passing the ball across goal and Mings, who had stayed forward, thumped home. That was the signal for Villa Park to burst with excitement again and Gerrard celebrated wildly.
Brighton boss Graham Potter said: “Villa Park is a difficult place to come anyway, but it was Steven’s first game. They were never going to give up.
“We controlled it as well as we could and we had more sustained pressure. But I didn’t feel we were in any danger until they scored
“We’d given ourselves a chance to win and if we had finished the game 0-0, it would have been a good point.
“We didn’t do enough to score, made a mistake and gave Aston Villa a chance to win. And, in the end, they deserved it.”