Steven Gerrard needed a result against Man City and he got a reaction from his Aston Villa stars

Ollie Watkins dropped to his knees and the others charged straight for the Holte End. Just a point, but one to celebrate. Aston Villa needed that; Steven Gerrard certainly needed it urgently and organized a huddle with his coaching staff.

It was the kind of night that can pull teams out of the mud, and that offered something of a feel-good factor. Manchester City felt they should have finished the game after Erling Haaland’s opener, but seeing Villa come back with courage is the kind of reaction Gerrard has craved in the difficult opening months of this season.

There were big performances everywhere. Douglas Luiz, who may have been at Arsenal after deadline day interest, was great. Emiliano Martinez’s saves at 1-0 kept them in contention. Jacob Ramsey’s run, particularly for Leon Bailey’s equaliser, provided an opportunity on the rare occasion City were without football.

Aston Villa picked up a point against Manchester City at Villa Park on Saturday night

Martinez has opened up about not getting much sleep lately because he was annoyed with her form. He managed to close his eyes for just 45 minutes after the midweek defeat at Arsenal. He might fight afterwards, but for entirely different reasons, the adrenaline is a sign their campaign might be on the way.

What it means for Gerrard is deeper. While the criticism leveled at him with just three points from five games was ultimately philosophical, it must have hurt him. There were some early disagreements in the stands when Ezri Konsa dallyed in possession and when a poor clearance from Tyrone Mings almost let Kevin De Bruyne in, but those concerns faded as the pace picked up and Villa overcame the Premier League champions.

Ashley Young’s diligent backtrack to knock out De Bruyne at the break was roared on, the start of a move that eventually saw Watkins fly away seconds later. There seemed to be more energy, more brains as Young replaced Matty Cash, who was eliminated with a hamstring problem.

Emiliano Martinez put in a strong performance after his mistake against Arsenal

Douglas Luiz excelled in midfield despite his failed move to the Gunners on Thursday

“Ash embodied everything we needed today,” said Gerrard. “The supporters’ appreciation (at the end) … a lot of that should be thanks to Ashley for pushing us forward.

“No one gave us hope before a ball was kicked. It was important that we had faith and courage. I’m really proud of what the players gave. It’s just an important point if we go and support it against Leicester.

This is the next one and both are in similar positions. Not only in the league, which is still too early to make big proclamations, but also with their teams. Brendan Rodgers was intrigued by the transfer window.

Steven Gerrard needed the point against Man City after his team’s poor start to the season

Rodgers has more players who wanted to go elsewhere than Gerrard, but to have trading closed through January is a huge relief. “Things are just stabilizing,” Rodgers said.

“People then know where they will be in the next few months. Experience just tells me that things are calming down now and I think we’ll see that in that time.

Gerrard certainly saw a reaction from Luiz. He ran the game from a Villa perspective, succinctly on the ball and intelligently away from it. Luiz always has something to prove to his former employers and his team seemed ready to settle some scores in the weeks to come as well.