Steven Gerrard has praised the Aston Villa supporters for their reaction to Andriy Yarmolenko's goal against his side on Sunday afternoon. West Ham ran out 2-1 winners over Villa with Yarmolenko coming off the bench to open the scoring in his first appearance since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last month.
The goal saw Yarmolenko raise his hands to the sky in celebration before emotion got the better of him and he collapsed to the ground in tears. The entire West Ham team surrounded the goalscorer and engulfed him in hugs that were clearly more than just celebrating his goal.
As Yarmolenko retreated back to his own half the visiting supporters stood to applaud Yarmolenko, not the first time they had done so that day with the Villa fans joining the West Ham faithful in a standing ovation as he entered the pitch for the stricken Michail Antonio.
