Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard felt his side’s fitness paid off in their 4-1 win against Wanderers in the Carabao Cup.

Dion Charles put the Whites in front but the visitors hit back through Douglas Luiz, Danny Ings, Lucas Digne and Leon Bailey to book their place in the third round.

John McGinn and Cameron Archer also had chances in the final stages but Joel Dixon made a couple of smart stops.

Gerrard expected a fast start from Ian Evatt’s men in front of the TV cameras but felt they wouldn’t be able to maintain it for the full 90 minutes.

“We expected Bolton to be extremely motivated. The cameras were here they had the opportunity to knock a Premier League team out,” he said.

“We knew they would come out of the blocks really fast. Intensity they matched up for much of the first half.

“We scored an incredible goal to get back on terms. I can guarantee that isn’t a fluke. He did the same thing yesterday so twice in 24 hours.

“And second half it could have been five, six, seven. We back ourselves from a fitness physical point of view and we know they wouldn’t be able to maintain Premier League level for 90 minutes.

“Phil’s [Coutinho] pass to Danny [Ings] was that bit of quality we didn’t have in the first half. The penalty swings the game in our favour.”

Gerrard named a strong line-up and was also able to bring the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Bailey and Archer off the bench.

He added: “I always believe in the quality we have got. The key message at half time was we didn’t want a game of basketball.

“The game was too end-to-end in the first half. We knew we would have big moments. It could have been more emphatic but to win 4-1 was a good reaction.”

Wanderers are back in League One action on Saturday afternoon when they head to Home Park to take on Plymouth Argyle.

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