A 2nd half penalty kick from Steven Gerrard rescued 1 point for Liverpool as they faced off against Aston Villa during their latest Premier League match. When the game concluded the goalkeeper of Aston Villa stated that even Luis Suarez himself was surprised when the referee awarded them with the set-piece.

“I was pretty confident in myself that I hadn’t touched him so I said to him ‘did I touch you?’ He said ‘I don’t know.’ That’s the honest truth of it,” he told reporters.

“Sometimes they go for you and sometimes they don’t. Unfortunately, for us it didn’t. I thought at the time that I’d pulled my hands back and, having seen it again on TV, I don’t think I made contact with him.

“Whether the referee saw that I’m not sure, I don’t know where his position was, but from my point of view it was a soft penalty. I think Suarez was probably a bit surprised as well to see it given. But these decisions happen and you have to get on with it and go again.”

While Brad Guzan is certain that he did not make any contact with Luis Suarez and everything he did was just dive for the penalty kick to be awarded, according to Brendan Rodgers, the referee made the correct decision and that his side even deserved to get another one.

“I thought we got one penalty and didn’t get another one. I thought the one in the first half Leandro Bacuna handles the ball clearly. He saw the flight of the ball coming over and then moves away at the last minute. It hit his arm but went away for a corner.

“And the second one I thought was a penalty. It was a great pass; Luis took it up to the keeper and gets a touch on him. It was a Uruguayan penalty this week! Once he’s touched it around him, Guzan doesn’t have his arms out, but his body makes contact with Luis, and I think it was a clear penalty.” Rodgers said.

Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor is confident that the dry run of goals that his teammate Benteke is experiencing will disappear soon.

Benteke made an impressive season last year when he netted 19 goals in 34 appearances for his club but now is struggling to maintain the momentum from last time having scored 4 goals in 11 matches so far.

‘’If you feel like everyone’s on your back, the goals don’t come’’. Christian is a quality player, he’s a strong personality and the goals will come. It’s down to us as a team to keep creating the chances for him. That’s our job as well’’.

‘’After last season there’s going to be a lot of expectation on him. He’s still doing well in training; he’s working hard so the goals will come. Of course, if you’re a star player people are going to try and mark you. After last season there’s going to be a lot of expectation on him, but he’s a quality player’’. Gabriel told the Birmingham Mail.

Considering the fact that Gabriel himself has not scored a single goal after making 10 appearances in this season if Benteke is added to the list of strikers that aren’t able to score on a consistent basis, it will be a big problem for Aston Villa as they are fighting for their place in the middle section of the Premier League standings.

Gabriel Agbonlahor still has not found the back of the net in this season but the manager Paul Lambert is still hoping that the 27 years old player can extend his stay in the club. His current contract expires in 2015 but Lambert hopes they can reach a new agreement that sees Gabriel retiring in Aston Villa.

After a few years in the wilderness without a lack of form, it seems that Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor is back to his best. He has been a key player for Aston Villa in the 4-3-3 formation employed by Paul Lambert since his arrival last summer.

He has formed a great partnership with Christian Benteke up front. This improved form could result in a call up for the England national team. Agbonlahor has made just three international appearances and his last came four years ago against Belarus.

The arrival of new players like Daniel Sturridge and Andros Townsend has made it difficult for him to get a place in the England team, but the 27-year-old is hoping that the attacking line-up introduced by Roy Hodgson will make it possible for him to get a place in the squad. England have qualified for the 2014 World Cup automatically by finishing top of the group. They will be playing in a few friendly matches from now till the start of the World Cup. Agbonlahor has said that there is still a lot of time to impress manager Hodgson.

He featured in the final World Cup qualifying match against Belarus prior to the 2010 World Cup, but still missed out on the competition.

“I’ve always been desperate to play for England. World Cups, European Championships, qualifying matches – even a friendly – it doesn’t matter to me. It’s always an honour to play for your country. Every time you pull on an England shirt is an honour as far as I’m concerned. There must be reasons why I haven’t been in the squad as much as I feel I should, but that’s down to me, no one else. It’s my job to have a really good season and show what I can do,” said Agbonlahor.

Belgium international Christian Benteke scored a stunning hat-trick as Aston Villa trounced Crewe Alexandra 5-1 in a pre-season friendly.

Benteke, who recently put pen to paper on a new deal at the club after handing in a transfer request demanding a move to a bigger club, scored all his goals in the first half as Paul Lambert’s men overcame the challenge of the League One outfit with little difficulty.

New signing Leandro Bacuna scored his first goal for the goal while Austrian international Andreas Weimann got his name on the score sheet as well with Harry Davis scoring what turned out to be a consolation goal for the Railwaymen.

Lambert named a very strong starting lineup including the likes of Benteke, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ron Vlaar as the visitors looked to stamp their authority on the League One outfit at their Alexandra Stadium. And it didn’t take Aston Villa too long to get their noses ahead as the Austrian international Weimann curled in an effort into the top corner of the Crewe net in the second minute.

The Austrian also played his part as he set up the Belgian Benteke to double Villa’s lead just nine minutes later. The Belgian was in fine form for the Villans and he scored his second goal on the half hour mark before completing his hat-trick in just 34 minutes.

Davis pulled one back for the home team four minutes before the break, slotting in from close range. Lambert made 10 changes to the side in the closing minutes and threw on Bacuna who completed the rout for Aston Villa with another clinical finish.

Having just managed to save relegation last season, Villa are hoping to start the new season with a bang in order to prevent the headache in the last few games.

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has said that the team should not get complacent after managing to put together a run of form in recent matches, which has helped them get clear of the relegation zone.

After managing to get three wins in the last five matches, the team are currently three points above the relegation zone with only eight matches remaining in the season. Despite having a good run of form, Lambert has said that the players should expect more struggles in the remainder of the season. The club will be going into the international break with confidence after having taken 9 points out of a possible 15.

The Premier league will resume for Aston Villa with the match against Liverpool, which will be one of the toughest for the club from now till the remainder of the season. Lambert has said that he has been having a lot of faith in the team even though many have written them off at various stages in the season. The former Norwich manager, though, is just hoping that the international break has not disrupted the momentum that his team has built at this crucial stage in the season. Villa will face the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in the remaining eight matches of the season.

“We have to. I’ve always said when we were beaten and everyone was writing us off, you just keep everyone level-headed and go again. It will be the same in the coming weeks, level-headed and go again. Everyone knows the rules with the international games which are important for everyone’s respective countries. That is the way the fixtures go. There are still eight games to go. We will have to wait and see. It gives us a good feeling around the football club,” said Lambert.

The Premier League match played between Aston Villa and Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday has ended in a draw. There were three goals scored by each team in the match.
This was the 9th draw for Aston Villa in the ongoing Premier League. Despite grabbing a point from this clash, Aston Villa remained at the second last position in the points table.

Villa has won only a couple out of 25 Premier League matches that it has played in this season so far. Villa has been defeated in 12 matches and it currently has 21 points.

On the other hand, for Everton, this was the 12th draw in the competition.

At one stage, Aston Villa seemed to be winning the match, but, it was a stoppage time goal from Marouane Fellaini which saved Everton from defeat and gave them a point. That was a great strike by the Belgian. He placed his header to perfection and equalized the scores. That was Fellaini’s second goal in the match. He had found the net in the 69th minute as well.

The manager of Aston Villa, Paul Lambert, looked gutted after Everton’s stoppage time goal. He had his hands on his head and he was looking absolutely perplexed.

The Aston Villa boss had every reason to get disappointed and angry. His side took the lead twice and they were cruising at one point of time. But, they played some very loose football in the last 20 minutes and gave the toffees the chance to bounce back in the match.

For Aston Villa, Christian Benteke scored a couple of goals, while, Gabriel Agbonlahor scored one goal.
Aston Villa’s next match will be a Premier League clash against West Ham United at Villa Park on 10th of February.

The Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has said that he is extremely elated by the youth prospects at the club. Despite having a troubled start to the new regime under Paul Lambert, Aston Villa are slowly showing their potential in recent weeks.

The recently almost managed to get a stunning victory over Manchester United only to lose the match 3-2 in the final few minutes. Gabriel Agbonlahor, who is now regarded as a senior member of the team after having made his debut in years ago, has said that his extremely delighted to see lot of young players in the team.

Agbonlahor has said that this is a team that has lot of future and he is extremely delighted to be part of it. The 26-year-old has seen the manager Paul Lambert put his faith in a number of young players at the start of the season. One of the main players so far this campaign has been the new summer signing Christian Benteke, who is just 21 years old. Yet, his physical presence and goal scoring abilities upfront are coming to the forte only recently. Aston Villa go into the weekend’s match against Stoke City undefeated in the last three encounters, and they are the favourites to get three points due to the home advantage.

“I’ve obviously been in quite a few different Villa teams through the years. And I’m excited about this one at the moment. It’s an improving team. I feel we are progressing each week. You see development in each game. That’s because we’re getting more and more used to each other. It’s a really good team in the making. But there’s definitely progress already,” said Gabriel Agbonlahor on the official website of the club ahead of the Stoke City match. The striker is slowly rediscovering his form as well.

The Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has expressed his confidence that the striker Gabriel Agbonlahor will be able to find the goal scoring form sooner rather than later. Gabriel Agbonlahor’s solitary goal helped Aston Villa beat Manchester United a few seasons ago.

However, it was just once in the seven times that they have managed to beat Manchester United in 56 attempts. Paul Lambert will be hoping to change this statistic for the better when they take on Manchester United at Villa Park. The club has been criticised for its inability to score goals, but Lambert has backed the form of the striker Agbonlahor.

Agbonlahor has looked extremely fit and ready in recent weeks. He has managed to win three England caps up until now, but has not been in the vicinity of the England team in recent seasons. He has also not been able to find the back of the net on a regular basis since the departure of Martin O’Neill. Due to the recent surge in fitness and sharpness levels, the manager is expecting good things from the striker in the future. He has also said that the partnership with Christian Benteke is also proving to be something that Aston Villa can build upon.

“I think Gabby at this minute in time is playing extremely well. There is a belief that he’s starting to hit top form and is definitely a real handful. He’s really quick. When he gets up to speed, he is a handful. If he can get goals to go with his game, he will be really fine. Gabby and Christian (Benteke) look a threat. The two of them are a handful at the moment for anybody,” said Lambert ahead of Manchester United match. The club are currently just one place above the relegation zone.

The Aston Villa striker, Gabriel Agbonlahor, has said that he hopes to get more opportunities to play as a striker in the current season. In the last season, Alex McLeish, who was the manager of Aston Villa at that time, had used Agbonlahor in different positions.

He had to play as a midfielder on several occasions and the English striker was not happy with that. As per Agbonlahor, he is a central striker and he always wants to play as a striker. He doesn’t want his position to be changed too often. It was frustrating to play in the midfield in the last season, and saw him being linked (by Arsenal news amonsgt others) with a move to the Emirates.

The performance of Aston Villa was very poor in the last season under the guidance of McLeish. The team managed to win only 21.4% of its matches. McLeish had to pay the price for it and he was terminated from his post and Paul Lambert was appointed as the new manager of Villa.

Agbonlahor seemed to be quite happy with the appointment of Lambert as the new manager. As per Agbonlahor, Lambert is a very supportive coach and he doesn’t try to force his decisions on to the players. He has got some very good strategies and if the players play according to his plans in the current season, the team is going to do very well.

Agbonlahor wasn’t able to play in a few matches at the start of the ongoing season due to the knee injury. But, he made a comeback in the team by playing in the match against Newcastle United. He played in his preferred striking position in that match. He didn’t manage to score any goal, but, his performance was decent. There was one goal scored by each team and the match ended in a draw. Villa will play its next match against Swansea City on 15th of September at Villa Park.

The Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has dismissed the speculation linking him with a move to Sunderland after it has emerged that the Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill is keen to be reunited with his former striker.

The 24-year-old rose to prominence under the former Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill, who is currently managing the Premier league club Sunderland. Since Martin O’Neill’s departure, Agbonlahor has never been the same. Even though he was made captain of the club last season, speculation has been growing that he will be looking for a move away from the club where he made his professional debut.

The 25-year-old has been capped by the England national team on three occasions, but it has been quite a long time since he has been in the England national team fold. Many are attributing this towards the departure of Martin O’Neill, who always got the best out of Agbonlahor. As a result, there have been suggestions that he will be joining Sunderland. The striker, though, has said that there is no truth present in the rumours linking him with a move to Sunderland and that he is extremely happy to stay at Villa Park. Agbonlahor scored six goals in 36 matches for Aston Villa last season.

“Looking at it over the summer I’m just laughing at myself thinking: ‘where do they get these links from? I’m an Aston Villa player, it’s my home club, I love the club, as long as I’m contracted to the club then I’ll continue to play for them – until I get told otherwise. When you’ve played with a manager as good as Martin O’Neill you are going to be linked with him. But, for me, it’s just speculation,” said the striker. Aston Villa are currently on a preseason tour of the United States.