Agbonlahor: Gerrard thrilled with five Aston Villa players after ‘talk’ I’ve heard
Steven Gerrard will be buzzing Aston Villa kept a clean sheet at the weekend, according to Gabby Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Villa’s record Premier League goalscorer insisted the “massive” 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion was the “perfect” start for Gerrard.
It ended a run of five consecutive defeats that saw Dean Smith sacked and replaced by Gerrard over the international break.
The new boss lined up with a back four of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Matt Targett in front of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
“It was massive,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Brighton are a good team, they’re organised. But if you’re not beating Brighton at home then it’s going to be a long season.
“Gerrard would have seen the next few games, Crystal Palace away and Man City at home. They are two very tough games. Crystal Palace are in good form.
“He would have been determined to get three points, it was the perfect result. If they lost to Brighton, with Palace and Man City coming up, it could have been a nightmare start.
“It was a great result. There was talk before the game that he was after a clean sheet from the players. He got that. They didn’t look like conceding and defended very well.
“I’m confident that this era will be a good one. You could just see his passion on the side, the way he celebrated the goals. That’s what you want to see.
“It reminded me a bit of Tim Sherwood and you get that reaction from ex-players. It’s like they have just scored when their team scores.”
In other news, Gerrard has told Aston Villa to let a £17m star go in January.