Gerrard's new Villa signings frustrate Man Utd

Simon Stone, BBC Sport

Steven Gerrard’s status in the game has the capability of helping to shove Aston Villa back to a point where they can start irritating the Premier League’s elite again.

It is fair to assume that without Gerrard, neither Lucas Digne nor Philippe Coutinho would have signed for Villa.

Both were key figures in Saturday’s comeback against a Manchester United, who flattered to deceive.

Coutinho grabbed the headlines but Digne was effective in defence and dangerous going forward.

This was another frustrating experience for United's interim boss Ralf Rangnick who is trying, so far without success, to find a way for his team to get control of games and find the balance between defence and attack.

After starting with back-to-back league wins, Rangnick has now seen his side muster five points from four games and they remain seventh, worryingly still a point behind a Tottenham side Antonio Conte is clearly not happy with, but who also have two games in hand on United.