Steven Gerrard reacts at the final whistle during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Aston Villa at Anfield in Liverpool December 11, 2021. — AFP pic
LIVERPOOL, Dec 12 — In the build-up to Saturday’s Premier League game at Liverpool, Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard had declined every invitation to reflect on the emotion of his return to Anfield and he stuck with that focused professionalism during and after the 1-0 loss.
There was no attention-grabbing waving to his old fans on The Kop as he provided the most minimal of acknowledgments of the applause he received walking out before the game.
Even at the end, as the old chant he received as a player rang out from the stands, Gerrard made sure his attention was reserved for his own visiting fans.
“For me the priority is the support from the Aston Villa fans,” Gerrard said after the game.
A Liverpudlian who joined the team’s youth set-up as an eight-year-old, Gerrard went on to make 504 appearances for the club, most famously captaining them to their astonishing comeback in the 2005 Champions League final win over AC Milan.
He played his final game for Liverpool at Anfield in 2015 and had a spell as a youth coach in the academy before taking on the manager’s job at Scottish club Rangers.
Many expect that one day he will take charge at Liverpool and current boss Juergen Klopp said he would “love it” if Gerrard turned out to be his successor.
But while the German was happy to dip into the sentiment that surrounded the local boy’s return home, Gerrard was not giving an inch — even after the game.
“You have to realise when you come into the Premier League you will have these (emotional) days, but I tried to focus on Aston Villa and made sure that was my priority,” said Gerrard.
Gerrard’s success in winning the Scottish Premiership last season earned him the chance to take over at Villa following the dismissal of Dean Smith last month.
Three wins from his opening four games has boosted morale at Villa, as well as their points tally, but Liverpool were always going to be a step too far.
In the end, it was only a Mohamed Salah penalty, disputed by Gerrard, that was the difference.
“I thought Liverpool were better in terms of general play. Their style was better than ours but we’ve done so well to contain them for large periods,” said the former England international.
“Ultimately the game has been decided by a penalty. There were two penalty incidents in the game, Liverpool got theirs — if you look at that one, Salah fouls (Tyrone) Mings first.
“It’s always hard to take when you lose football matches. We knew it was going to be a containing job. You have to ride the first 20-25 minutes against sides like this. We finished the game stronger, with more belief and some good opportunities,” he said.
Gerrard suggested he regretted waiting until Liverpool were in front before bringing on attack-minded subs.
“In hindsight, I should have thrown a bit more at it a bit earlier but you have to be careful Liverpool don’t hit you for two, three or four,” he said. — Reuters