Under-fire Steven Gerrard refused to make Tyrone Mings the scapegoat as luckless Aston Villa 's tailspin spiralled towards the drop zone.
Mings' dreadful error handed two-goal Mason Mount Chelsea's opener – but Gerrard, who stripped Mings of the Villa captaincy earlier this year, stood by his crestfallen England defender. He said: “I've been in dressing rooms where people have made mistakes and they don't even take responsibility for them. Tyrone has done that but his reaction was superb.”
While Villa's players were applauded off, boss Gerrard copped some flak from pockets of fans as Villa slipped to within a point of the relegation places.
