Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard was delighted with his players after they secured a 3-0 win over Leeds Utd at Elland Road.
Goals from Philippe Coutinho, Matty Cash and Calum Chambers ensured Villa returned home with all three points, making it three wins on the bounce and three consecutive clean sheets.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Leeds: Cash, Coutinho superb in 3-0 win
Ahead of a difficult run of fixtures, it was an ideal way to wrap up the last few games, and it’s hoped that it has given the players plenty of belief and confidence to enjoy a strong finish to the Premier League season.
Unsurprisingly, Gerrard was pleased with the performance, and praised his team for their effort in not only shutting Leeds out with the hosts having just one shot on target, but also the quality shown in the final third.
Gerrard on Villa win over Leeds
“The players were magnificent tonight, they carried out our game plan extremely well,” he told VillaTV. “Everything we planned to do in and out of possession came off tonight. We’ve scored three fantastic goals with another clean sheet.
“I’m told that it’s the first time in 12 years we’ve kept three clean sheets on the bounce in three Premier League wins, so that’s a pleasing stat. The players deserve a lot of credit for that.”
Gerrard on Chambers
“He’s [Chambers] been class, on and off the pitch,” Gerrard added.
“He’s been a real pleasure to work with. I thought that was the knockout blow tonight, to get the third goal in the way that we did it. That was the knockout blow and from that moment it was about keeping a clean sheet and everyone defensively getting their buzz out of it as well because everyone’s responsible for scoring goals and everyone’s got to be responsible for keeping the ball out as well.”
Gerrard on West Ham clash
“West Ham are above us in the league, they’re a long-term target for us to try and replicate what they’ve done in the league for the last few years which is push for a European spot.
“We’ll respect the challenge at the weekend, but we’re going there in a good place.
“The players just need to remain calm, less talking and more action, and let’s see where it takes us.”