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BIRMINGHAM. — Steven Gerrard says Aston Villa must back up their 2-0 win over Brighton with a result at Crystal Palace next weekend. Gerrad got off to a perfect start with his new club by overcoming a tricky first test against Graham Potter’s Brighton & Hove side who were unbeaten away from home this season, before making the trip to Villa Park.

It was the performance of Marvelous Nakamba that caught the eye of the supporters after he completed 27 of his 28 passes in what was a solid display by Gerrard’s side.

And now fans are hoping Gerrard can tease the best out of the Zimbabwe international as they rushed to laud his display on social media.

Here’s what the fans had to say on Twitter.

Tom Ellis: “This is where Dean struggled to utilise Nakamba, he’s generally done the basics very well. Asking him to progress the ball is too much.”

Kevin Hughes: “He’s never going to be pinging 30-yard diagonals, but if you want a DM to sit and cover, he’s fine. This is why I wasn’t on board with the summer calls for a ‘DM’. We have one, just not often used. A better quality CM, sure, but that’s a different conversation IMO.”

Mardy Bum: “He kept possession of the ball. Not once did I see him choose not to pay forward if a forward pass was on. Playing sideways and backwards is necessary at times. Bad players try to force passes that aren’t there.”

Ashley Buswell: “He really surprised me looked much more assured on the ball that’s what a good shape does for a player.”

Bez: “Been saying for weeks, someone needs to get in his ear and tell him to just make a simple 5-yard pass when he gets the ball. Don’t try anything more ambitious. Did that today and he was good.”

Emi1: “Hopefully Gerrard can get a bit more from him.”

Aaron: “There are elements to his game he simply cannot do well, but others he does very well. Breaking up today and anchoring the defence he was brilliant.”

Ollie Watkins broke the deadlock on the 84th minute with a fine finish before Tyrone Mings put the game to bed with only minutes remaining, and Gerrard was pleased with his side’s display.

“It did come late and there was a couple of moments in the first half where we had to suffer and put bodies on the line and we had to get through those difficult moments. That gives you the chance to win the game at the end,” Gerrard told Sky Sports.

‘’Really proud of the players and there’s plenty of positives to take from the game, now the challenge for us is to try and back it up next week.”

Villa came into the game against Brighton without a win since September after their last league victory came against Manchester United at Old Trafford eight weeks ago. Gerrard and assistant coach Michael Beale want their team to play with energy and poise.

“It’s what the Villa crowd demands, they want high energy, we want to be high energy, we want to be high tempo but at the same time we can’t be careless, we can’t jump out from slots because good teams will hurt us,” Gerrard added.

“I thought our shape and structure was really positive in the main, but there’s still stuff to work on, stuff to tweak.

“The coming training sessions in the coming weeks are really crucial to get everything perfect.

“I’ve seen a lot of application, focus, we’ve had people all over the world come back late but the players have applied themselves really well and nobody deserves this win more than the players, they’ve had a really tough time losing five in a row, but to stand up and produce the win today, they deserve a lot of credit for that.”

Here’s how the Villa squad reacted to the win over Brighton on social media.

Leon Bailey: “+3 Only Up From Here!”

Matt Targett: “Three points and a clean sheet! The perfect day at Villa Park”

Marvelous Nakamba: “Great team performance”

Ashley Young: “Back to winning ways. Winning games is a great feeling and even better when the stadium is bouncing… then you score in front of the Holte End. UTV”

Matty Cash: “Back to winning ways! That felt so good”

Emi Buendia: “Come on lads! Massive win at Villa Park. Let’s keep it. Thanks all the fans for the amazing support”

John McGinn: “That’s more like it”

Emi Martinez: “Great result and performance from the boys today. Clean sheet” — Birmingham Mail.