Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has backed striker Christian Benteke to play his way out of a lean spell of six games without a goal. He said: "Everyone has times when they find it hard. That's tough because then you have to make a decision, do you bring him off, do you start him?
"But you're doing it for the benefit of him as well. He'll come through it.
"It's important to try and keep him up. You don't chastise him, he's my player and you pick them up.
"That's the way I try and do it. I'm pretty sure his team-mates will try and do it.
"When you set yourself that standard, and it was an extraordinary standard, if you even blip out of it then it can be really noticeable.
"Deciding to sub him wasn't a hard decision. You make a decision for the good of the team and the club, he wasn't up to scratch in the way that he normally is. I decided that was it."
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