Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard gives Dejan Kulusevski verdict after Tottenham loss

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard praised Tottenham Hotspur’s front three following his side’s 4-0 defeat at Villa Park on Saturday (9 April).

Son Heung-min fired a sensational hat-trick for Spurs as Antonio Conte’s men took control of the race for a Premier League top-four spot.

Son’s treble and a fine Dejan Kulusevski strike sent Spurs three points clear in fourth.

Their deadly front three, with Harry Kane creating two of the goals, sealed the victory, but Spurs also have skipper Hugo Lloris to thank just as much.

After Son’s early opener they were on the rack for most of the first half, with the Frenchman’s heroics keeping a rampant Villa at bay.

Their lethal quality on the break in the second half saw them run away with it and inflict a fourth straight defeat on Steven Gerrard’s side.

‘They are high-level players’

After the game Villa boss Gerrard, said: “They made it about our backline in the second half, they were ruthless with their quality and that’s the reason the scoreline is what it was.

“They are certainly high-level players. I would say two of them are world class and the young kid from Juventus Kulusevski is potentially a top player.

“That is my opinion on it. You have to remember Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea have world-class players as well.

“I am not sure where Tottenham sit in the league but normally the teams that win the league have the best forward line.”

Despite the scoreline, Gerrard said Villa’s first-half performance was the best of his tenure.

“First half… best performance we have had together in the first 45 minutes,” he said.

“I can’t remember many times through my football career where I have been so proud and happy going off a pitch 1-0 (down).

“In terms of what you were asking the players to go and do on the pitch, I thought we were dominant, we were aggressive, we suffocated Tottenham, I thought we created enough chances to win more than one football match, but we didn’t execute.

“I was scratching my head going off how we we were losing that game 1-0.

“I thought the second goal was a real blow for us. It was real quality from Tottenham’s point of view, but defensively it is extremely poor. The third and fourth goals were no better on the eye.”

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