"The best Liverpool team there’s been" - Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard heaps praise on Jurgen Klopp's team ahead of Premier League clash
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has hailed the current Liverpool side as the best he's ever seen ahead of their Premier League clash today.
Jurgen Klopp's troops visit Villa Park to keep their slim title hopes alive.
Following their 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday, the Reds trailed Manchester City by three points with only three league games remaining this season.
They're also left with an inferior goal-difference after the Sky Blues thrashed Newcastle United 5-0 the day after their slip-up.
🗣️"I'm not going to give you the headlines you may be chasing!"
Steven Gerrard speaks ahead of Aston Villa's game against Liverpool - which could have a big impact on the Premier League title race. https://t.co/7OxB1WUveU
Gerrard, a Reds legend and former captain, is regardless impressed with his old club's form, even calling the current squad the best team ever.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, he said, as quoted by The Guardian:
“I think to watch they are probably the best, because of the speed, the intensity and the mentality of this current group. But I say that without disrespecting previous successful Liverpool teams, because I grew up watching them, the European Cup winners, serial league title-winners, I grew up on all the DNA of that club."
He added:
"I’m well aware that they have had world-class players, managers and teams previously, but I think to watch – on the eye, because of the way the game has changed, it has gone quicker and faster – I think you’re probably watching the best Liverpool team there’s been.”
Liverpool are competing for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies. They've already won the Carabao Cup and will play in the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League later this month while pushing City down to the wire in the Premier League.
Gerrard hasn't thought about scuppering Liverpool's title charge
Another setback at Villa Park this week will surely end the Reds' bid for the league title, but Gerrard has insisted that the thought of derailing their ambitions hasn't crossed his mind.
Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool. 😍
Your #MondayMotivation ahead of #AVLLIV. 🙌 https://t.co/CoWbMBeDuh
He added:
“Not really, no, and it didn’t when we competed against Burnley at the other end of the table last weekend [Villa won 3-1]."
He further said:
“Preparation is always about Aston Villa and preparing my team in the best way we can for whatever challenge faces us. Whoever I represent, I’ll go into the game wanting to win. The day I don’t have that urgency to win, I won’t be sitting in a seat like this.”
Two of Liverpool's last three visits to Villa have resulted in huge defeats - 5-0 in the 2019 League Cup and 7-2 in the 2020-21 Premier League.
But in January last year, the Reds cruised to a 4-1 victory at the venue in an FA Cup third-round clash.