Houllier pleased with Villa draw

"We knew it was going to be a difficult game," he said after the game. "We knew they'd be full of energy and they were up for it.

"It was a very entertaining game and there were chances at either end. We had ours, they had theirs and the goalkeepers made good saves.

"Hopefully the season starts now. The players showed a lot of character. We had chances and the effort was fantastic.

"We thought we needed to strengthen the defence and against Chelsea we didn't get the result we deserved because of that.

"We played with four up front - Harry, Diouf and two strikers - and I think we had a very offensive set up and we'll work at it.

"I'm pleased that today we showed temperament and character and when we had to defend the whole team defended.

"We could have won but on the back of a defeat against Chelsea we consider that a good result."

What do you think of the Villa draw?