Villa boss Steven Gerrard: It was a pleasure to share the touchline with Patrick Vieira at Crystal Palace

Steven Gerrard was full of praise for the way his Aston Villa side came through testing moments to extend his 100 per cent record as a Premier League boss with a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace yesterday.

Goals from Matt Targett and John McGinn ensured that the Eagles’ seven-match unbeaten run was ended, although Marc Guehi did get a stoppage time consolation.

The fixture pitched two former Premier League midfield powerhouses against each other. Gerrard is a Liverpool legend while Eagles boss Patrick Vieira played with such distinction for Arsenal and Manchester City in the top flight.

“He’s a great man,” Gerrard told Match Of The Day when asked about sharing a touchline with Vieira. “I had many brilliant battles with Patrick and it was a pleasure to stand alongside him.

“You could see when we were leading today that he’s a winner – he was pushing his players all the way. At times we had to dig in and suffer, we expected that from him – that’s his mentality. But certainly I’ve got no bruises down my legs like I used to when I’ve gone up against him before!

“The important thing was to back up last weekend [a 2-0 home win over Brighton]. I’ve only been doing it [the Villa job] for two weeks and it hasn’t been perfect in the two games. But we’ve done enough to get six points from six, which is a really big step for us.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD