Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has no doubts that defender Ciaran Clark will learn from his costly mistake during his side's defeat to Manchester City.

The 23-year-old was caught on the ball by Edin Dzeko in the buildup to Carlos Tevez's goal that gave the Premier League champions a 1-0 win at Villa Park on Monday night.

While Clark claims that he was fouled by the Bosnian, Lambert believes that his player was trying to be too over-elaborate on the ball.

"I know what Ciaran was trying to do," Lambert told the Birmingham Post. "You don't take a chance like that - you can't make that mistake.

"He's a young lad and he will come back stronger. He's been great over the season, at a really high standard, and he will learn."

Villa travel to Reading on Saturday.