Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert is proud of their youngsters after they won this season's NextGen Series.

Villa emerged victorious in the prestigious European competition, beating Ajax, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiacos, Celtic, PSV and Chelsea along the way.

Lambert flew out to Italy for the showpiece final and was impressed with what he saw.

He told Villa's website: "It was great. I was over there for the final. They were excellent, second half especially.

"It gives them a feeling of winning - what it's like to win something. The next stage is getting near the first team. The gap is getting bigger and stronger.

"But for them, considering they lost the first two games, it's a great achievement.

"I think for them and the club it's fantastic. I really do.

"You're playing against teams in Europe and you get different styles to come up against."