Douglas Luiz was delighted that practice made perfect as his free-kick helped secure Aston Villa’s 2-1 success over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Brazilian’s 25-yard set-piece in the second half handed Villa a crucial two-goal lead against Spurs at Villa Park, with the visitors pulling one back late on through Harry Kane’s penalty.
Luiz spoke of his joy after the win and admitted his goal was the reward for hours of practice on the training ground.
“The process is difficult; it’s training every day,” he told VillaTV.
“It’s so hard, but today I’m so happy to score in the game, with the free-kick.
“I’m so happy.”
Reflecting further on his goal, Luiz added: “I said after the game, I saw the goal.
“I’m so happy because, the goal, I’m training hard every day.
“I need to continue training and doing it in the game.”
Villa’s triumph represented a sixth successive home win in the Premier League for the first time since 1993.
Victory also moved Unai Emery’s side up to seventh in the table, level on points with Spurs, and guaranteed a first top-10 finish in 12 years.
And Luiz was overjoyed with the success, with the Villans now heading into the final two matches of the campaign.
“The victory is so important because the dream is alive,” he added.
“My dream, and our dream, is to play in Europe, and we continue.
“We have one more game at home, we’re so strong at home, in six games we haven’t lost, and we need to continue.”
