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Aston Villa manager and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has spoken ahead of his return to Anfield next week. He has squashed any talk of being emotional on his return and said he is focused on the game.
Aston Villa beat Leicester City 2-1 in the Premier League yesterday (December 5). It made it three out of four wins for Steven Gerrard since joining Villa Park as manager. Their only loss came in a 2-1 defeat against Manchester City.
Next up for Aston Villa is Liverpool at Anfield, a place that has been Gerrard's home for years. After the Leicester City match, Gerrard was asked if he had any sentimental thoughts about his return. He said:
"None, none at all. I just want to go there and try to win and take what we can. For us, we’re not competing with Liverpool, in terms of the level we’re both at, at the moment, but we’ll certainly go there and give it everything we’ve got."
He further added:
"We took (Manchester) City to the wire and I believe we should have taken something out of the game with our second-half performance. So we go there with confidence and belief, with three wins out of four, and we’ll try and make it as difficult as we can.”
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard's stellar start at Aston Villa
Steven Gerrard spent 17 years at Anfield as a player. He had some incredible moments at the club, regularly scoring worldies and being instrumental in major comebacks. The only dent in his Liverpool career would be the failure to win a Premier League title.
His managerial career, though, has started on a roll. He joined Scottish side Rangers in 2018 and led them to their first Scottish Premier League title in 10 years in 2021. He looked all set to achieve more trophies with the Glasgow-based club.
However, Aston Villa came knocking in November this year after sacking Dean Smith and Gerrard returned to the Premier League. Since arriving at Villa Park, Gerrard has led them to three wins out of four with a focus on more hard work on the pitch.
Even in the 2-1 loss against Manchester City, Villa could have easily snatched a point had they been more clinical. Their next match will be against another title favorite when they face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, December 11.
It will be interesting to watch not only Gerrard's return at Anfield, but also Aston Villa's performance. For 17 years, Gerrard tried to help Liverpool win the Premier League. This time, he will be keen to stop their title charge.
