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Aston Villa manager Dean Smith insists he is not getting carried away with his brilliant start to the season after a 1-0 last-gasp win at Leicester.
Ross Barkley’s goal in added time in a low-quality match brought Villa, who escaped relegation by just one point in July, to second place and one point behind leaders Everton.
It extended the only 100% record in the top five leagues in Europe and is the first time since 1930-31 that Villa has won his first four league games.
“We take it one game at a time, like always,” Smith said.
“We never got too high when we won and we never got too low last season fighting for relegation. We have to keep our balance.
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“This was a great victory, I know they were missing some players, but if you are out of your game at any stage in the Premier League, your nose can bleed very quickly.
“It was a very close game, a difficult game at times. It took a bit of quality to win the game and Ross certainly showed it in the end.”
Loaned Chelsea midfielder Barkley scored his second goal in as many games, and as many as he did in his last 42 appearances before his move to Villa Park.
Ross Barkley scored a late goal as Villa beat Leicester 1-0 on Sunday
Smith revealed that Barkley had doubts about his fitness before the game, so he ran to celebrate with team doctor Ricky Shamji after scoring.
“He had a minor knee injury, so it was difficult to decide if he would start,” added the Villa coach.
“He only trained on Saturday, but he has worked a lot with the doctor, so he looked after him for over 90 minutes and he was a winner. I have certainly also thanked the doctor.”
Barkley has already scored two goals for Villa in as many games since he came on loan from Chelsea.
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has his own injury concerns as he missed forward Jamie Vardy with a calf injury, which will also rule him out of the Europa League against Zorya on Thursday, while center-back Caglar Soyuncu will be out for three months. with a groin injury suffered in international service with Turkey.
“Jamie will miss the European game and will probably be fine for our next league game,” the Foxes manager said.
“This one was not that bad, but we couldn’t afford to risk a tear. Soyuncu is more serious, the muscle is out of the bone, so it could be out for three months.
Brendan Rodgers thinks Leicester deserved more from the game at King Power Stadium
“It’s an absolute shame. She will be a great lady and joins the other guys [out injured]. “
Rodgers was also frustrated that his team couldn’t wait for a draw.
“I don’t think we deserve that, I thought we were the best team in the first half, we overcame them very well but we didn’t get that quality pass.”
“The second half became a little more basketball and it was not the kind of game we wanted.
“You’re disappointed to lose that because if you can’t win it, you don’t want to lose and losing it like that was disappointing.”
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