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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
John Cross

Steven Gerrard's half-time dressing down pays off to inspire Aston Villa comeback

Steven Gerrard admitted he gave his Aston Villa players a half time dressing down before they made it three wins out of four under the new boss.

Villa came from behind and were outstanding in the second half as Ezri Konsa grabbed a brace to leapfrog Leicester and move into the top half of the table.

Gerrard said: "To the man we were outstanding second half but we had to get into them at half-time to get a reaction.

"We had to demand more from all of them because I didn’t feel we were aggressive enough. That’s a minimum requirement for us, to be really tough to play against.

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Steven Gerrard has revealed he had to demand more from his Aston Villa players at half-time against Leicester (Amazon)

"I'm really pleased with the result but we still need to iron out some issues. We need more time on the training pitch to fully understand how we want to play.

"Can we do it for the full 90 minutes without me having to get on the players' back at half-time?

"But I would have taken three wins from the first four games before a ball was kicked and we pushed Manchester City all the way and the players deserve so much credit.”

It also sets up Gerrard for an emotional return to Liverpool next weekend - but he insists that there will be no room for sentiment.

Gerrard added: "I will not make it about me, I can’t help it if others do that but I will go there to try and get a result."

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers pin pointed his team’s weakness at set pieces but insisted the officials were right to rule out Jacob Ramsey’s goal after a VAR check for a foul on Kasper Schmeichel.

Ashley Young and Steven Gerrard celebrate Aston Villa's win over Leicester City ((Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images))

"A few years ago that goal would definitely have stood and, while we didn’t deserve to go behind at the end of the first half, I would have been frustrated if I’d been Aston Villa," said Rodgers. "But that’s how the law is now.

“Our Achilles heel which is killing us is our defending from set pieces and is undoing all our good work.

"I’m very frustrated because it’s very fine margins and our all round play is good."

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