Aston Villa winger Trezeguet always kept faith in himself

The Egypt international found the net for the first time this season with a quickfire to double in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Fulham.

Trezeguet had previously recorded more attempts on goal without scoring than any player in the top flight after drawing a blank in his first 19 appearances of the campaign.

But the 26-year-old winger, who has struggled to hold down a regular place since suffering a hamstring injury in December, always had faith his fortune would change.

He said: “I am very happy for the goals but I believe in myself.

“I believed it was coming because I work really hard with the team and individually.

“Sometimes things don’t go your way, but as long as you work hard, it will come. It just takes time, but it will come.”

Trezeguet’s goals helped Villa fight back from a goal down to win for only the second time in seven matches and keep alive their hopes of European football.

Dean Smith’s team next travel to Liverpool on Saturday before hosting runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City.

The trip to Anfield is a six-pointer in the race for Europe, with Villa sitting five points behind the sixth-placed Reds and possessing a match in hand.

Trezeguet said: “We have nine matches left and it is very important to finish in the best way possible.

“Whatever you do in the start of the season, how you finish is the most important thing of course.

“We will try to finish in a better position than we are now. We climbed two positions in the table (with the win on Sunday) and I hope we finish where we deserve.

“We also have two tough games coming up against Liverpool and then Manchester City. It is very important to go to those matches well motivated.”