Analysis: Manchester City draw hands Steven Gerrard a timely boost ahead of key fortnight

Jeered the previous Sunday after losing 1-0 to West Ham and criticised further following Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat at Arsenal, Villa’s boss left the field on Saturday to the sound of warm applause as the Holte End celebrated the most unexpected of 1-1 draws with Manchester City.

“Opinions can quickly change,” Gerrard had said, rather presciently, just 24 hours before.

It works both ways, of course. The cheers of Saturday will be quickly forgotten if Villa do not now follow it up against Leicester and Southampton. A potentially reign-defining fortnight still lies ahead.

The difference is Gerrard and Villa are entering it with a little spring restored to their step. After three straight defeats, finally here were some significant positives for the manager to talk about. Players who at times in recent weeks appeared a little lost, have some confidence restored.

None more so than Leon Bailey. To say the Jamaica international has endured a difficult time since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in a £25m move last summer would be an understatement. In truth, there wasn’t a huge amount to shout about in the first 73 minutes of his performance here but after blasting a brilliant first-time, left-footed finish past Ederson to bring Villa level, he visibly grew in belief.

For the first month of the season, Villa’s team has been in a state of flux, Gerrard making 13 changes to his line-up through the opening five matches while seemingly hunting for an effective formula. On Saturday, his decision to largely keep faith with the XI who had battled hard without reward at Arsenal paid dividends.

Ezri Konsa, one of several players to have been dropped during the early weeks of the campaign, grew in stature alongside the excellent Tyrone Mings in the heart of defence, while up front Ollie Watkins looked much more like his old self, keeping City centre-backs Ruben Dias and John Stones, in particular, honest with relentless running and strong hold-up play.

The one player drafted into the team, Douglas Luiz, rewarded his manager with his best performance of the season. Any fears the Brazilian midfielder might have been distracted after being the subject of three failed deadline day bids were quickly dispelled as he got stuck in to the task of frustrating his former club. Strong in the tackle, Luiz also used the ball well, setting up Villa’s best chance of the first half with a perfectly placed and weighted pass to Watkins. His harrying then helped the hosts win possession in the build-up to Bailey’s leveller.

Gerrard admitted to having created a siege mentality, challenging his players to shock the world. Yet you could hardly blame the world for having written them off.

City went into the match having scored 19 goals in their first five matches, while Villa were yet to keep a clean sheet.

When Erling Haaland opened the scoring five minutes into the second half, the odds on a win for the champions got even shorter. This was only the fifth time since Gerrard took charge Villa have conceded first and gone on to take anything from the game.

Almost as pleasing as the recovery was sustaining it. Already this season, Villa have been guilty of conceding within three minutes of scoring on three occasions. Bailey’s equaliser on Saturday came at precisely the same time as Luiz’s at Arsenal, where parity was quickly lost. While Konsa later confirmed a celebration involving all 10 outfield players had been a public display of solidarity, it also appeared a deliberate attempt to mentally reset with the task still far from finished.

City had their moments in the closing stages. Emi Martinez, who had twice earlier denied Haaland from adding a second, saved from Phil Foden, while substitute Riyad Mahrez dragged an effort wide.

But Villa might have won it themselves had referee Simon Hooper not blown up so hurriedly after Philippe Coutinho was wrongly flagged offside and while the full-time whistle was greeted with a huge roar from the home supporters, it would be wrong to say their team had been hanging on.

Much of the criticism aimed at Gerrard has concerned tactics, yet in three meetings with City since taking charge at Villa he has caused Pep Guardiola headaches. The 42-year-old was typically considered when evaluating the performance, noting while his team had been very good, they had not been perfect.

Taking on a struggling Leicester will present a very different challenge and big questions still need to be addressed. Naming both Coutinho and Emi Buendia on the bench is unlikely to be a long-term solution, while the form of skipper John McGinn continues to be concerning. Yet in switching to a system which offered just a little more attacking width, Gerrard has perhaps found a more effective framework.

Villa will likely be without Matty Cash at the King Power Stadium after the right-back was forced off early with a hamstring complaint. Yet his replacement, Ashley Young, went on to be the home side’s best performer and deserves to keep his place on merit.

The 37-year-old winning the ball back off Kevin De Bruyne and starting the move which led to Watkins’ first half chance, marked the moment Villa went from simply containing City to competing with them.

Young’s commitment to the cause was infectious and helped inspire his team-mates to their best performance of the season to date. Now they must build on it.