Steven Gerrard not surprised by 'absolutely class' Aston Villa reaction to West Ham goal

Steven Gerrard has praised the reaction of Aston Villa fans following the goal scored by Ukrainian international Andriy Yarmolenko in their Premier League clash on Sunday.

Yarmolenko, 32, came on as a substitute in the 52nd minute for Michael Antonio and opened the scoring 18 minutes later with a sharp effort taken in the Villa penalty area, as West Ham United went on to win 2-1.

The player and his teammates were clearly very emotional following the goal, given the fact it it was his first appearance since Russia invaded his home country last month.

Following the goal, Yarmolenko raised both of his hands to the air and proceeded to collapse to the ground in tears as the emotions of the occasion got the better of him. The player was swiftly surrounded by his teammates as they embraced him, scenes outlining that how some things are much greater than the game of football itself.

As the match slowly edged to a restart following the goal, Yarmolenko got to his feet and was applauded by the Villa fans, who had previously already given him a standing ovation when he entered the game.

Gerrard commented on the exceptional reaction from his fans, where he stated: "The Villa fans have been absolutely class with me.

"They are educated people, in terms of football, and I'm not surprised at that class.

"The kid scores a good goal and he has been through a lot so we send him our regards."

Yarmolenko spoke after the game on the situation, saying: "It was so emotional for me because of the situation in my country.

"It is so difficult for me right now in this moment thinking about football because every day, the Russian army is killing Ukrainian people. It was so emotional.

"To be honest, I don’t know what to say. I just want to say