Steven Gerrard was proud of the bravery and character shown by his Aston Villa players during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City at Villa Park.
Following a quiet first half, the champions took the lead when Erling Haaland turned home Kevin de Bruyne’s cross after 50 minutes.
Backed by a raucous home crowd, Villa responded and earned a point when Leon Bailey thumped an effort past Ederson, leaving his head coach pleased with what he’d seen.
He said: “We said to the players [before the game], ‘listen, outside of the dressing room, outside of Aston Villa, no one gives us a glimmer of hope today.’
“It was important inside the dressing room that we stuck together, that we had belief and we had everyone all in and pushing towards executing a game plan. In the main, the players have been fantastic today.
“As the game went on we started to get a bit more confidence and belief, and we hurt them at decent times. We could have had a second goal as well.”
City had racked up 19 goals in five league games prior to their visit to B6, but they were held in check for the most part by a resolute defensive performance from the hosts.
And when the chance came to ask questions of their opponents, Villa were able to make it count.
“Against one of the best teams, it would’ve been understandable if the players felt sorry for themselves and went under but we never – we rose,” Gerrard said.
“The players rolled their sleeves up and we stuck together. We said we might have some moments in the game and some setbacks. It’s important that you stick together in those moments and your body language is good.
“I was really impressed with the character and bravery the players showed to get back in this game. On another day, if the referee wasn’t so eager on his whistle we might have had a second.”
At the full-time whistle, Villa Park recognised the importance of ending a three-game losing run with a draw against the title contenders.
Gerrard is now fully focused on making sure his players capitalise on the point with a positive result away at Leicester City next weekend.
He said: “I’ve said to the players, ‘look, this is only a positive point, this is only a point we can enjoy if we reset in the week and we back it up.’
“We’ve got to go to Leicester now with the confidence and belief that we can take points off any opponent.
“If you can take points off City like we have today, we’ve got to have belief and confidence in every game. If we back it up next week, it’s a good point.”
