Paul Lambert pleased with Aston Villa effort

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has praised his players for giving their all in this evening's slender defeat against Manchester City.

The Villans were undone by strikes from Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero late on at Villa Park to deny them a share of the spoils.

"I thought it was a big effort from us, we defended strongly but they have quality all over the pitch and we were dead all over the pitch by the end," Lambert told Sky Sports News.

"We were in that game for 82 minutes. We have played the top four in the league last season already, but we have come through it without any of them having beaten us badly."

Villa, who play Everton in their next game following the international break, are now in seventh place in the Premier League table.