Danny Ings scored a penalty, but Philippe Coutinho missed another as Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa beat Leeds United 1-0 in a high-intensity clash of English Premier League teams, with 16-year-old Archie Gray taking a stretch on Sunday. did.
England international Ings converted in the second half when his teammate Coutinho was denied a brilliant double save from Leeds young French keeper Ilan Meslier.
A pre-season tour match in front of nearly 41,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane saw a lot of trouble and tough tackles, which boiled over when Scottish midfielder John McGuin flattened Gray.
It was only minutes after Leeds legend Eddie Grey’s nephew and son of former land Road striker Andy Gray went down with a leg brace to grab his ankle before being carried on a stretcher.
“Really good workout, a win and a clean sheet and a lot of positivity to take away,” said Gerrard, a former Liverpool and England midfielder.
“I was really happy with the big part of the first half, some parts of the second half were a little bad.
When asked about Grey’s, he said, “There were some spicy challenges, it’s a contact sport.” “Hopefully the damage isn’t too bad and he’s back.”
Villa finished 14th in the Premier League last season, only 10 points clear of the drop zone, and Gerard made it clear he believed he was in the top 10.
spirited and physical
The former Rangers boss has made some major signings, making Coutinho’s loan deal permanent from Barcelona and bringing in Boubacar Camara from Marseille and Diego Carlos from Sevilla.
Both Camara and Carlos made their debut for Villa in a second consecutive win on Sunday when they beat Walsall 4-0 to start the pre-season schedule last weekend.
Leeds began preparations for the new campaign with a 2-1 win against Brisbane Roar on Thursday.
He was the only one left in the English top flight last season and, like Gerrard, manager Jesse Marsh hopes for better.
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While Brazilian winger Rafinha is on his way to Barcelona, Marsh has also brought in new players, most notably Colombian winger Luis Sinistra and American midfielder Tyler Adams.
“It was upbeat and physical and I think both teams got something out of it,” Marsh said.
“We just heard that we hope he’s fine, it sounds like an ankle sprain,” he added.
Leeds got off to a better start and Dan James had the best opening chance for a decent response with his half-volley except for Swedish goalkeeper Robin Olsen.
A few minutes later, Adams awarded a penalty after an unnecessary handball.
Coutinho stepped up, but Messier made a brilliant save on the right track and then reacted quickly to block the rebound.
Villa kept pressing and Coutinho played Ollie Watkins through on goal, but once again Meslier produced an excellent stop.
He went on a goalless break and Villa made the bulk of the change.
Ings came on and thought he would only put Villa ahead on 49 minutes to rule him offside.
He finally broke through in 63 minutes when Villa again earned a penalty with a handball and this time Messier could do nothing.
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