Aston Villa recorded a much-needed 2-1 victory in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final against Lille, with one star being lauded for his display at Villa Park.
It was an encouraging night for Aston Villa at Villa Park, seeing Unai Emery’s side record a 2-1 win in the first leg against LOSC Lille.
The Villans will be relieved to take a lead into the second leg of the quarter-finals against the Ligue 1 outfit, who were impressive throughout the contest, taking the game to the Premier League side.
It was perhaps predictable that it would be Ollie Watkins who opened the scoring for the hosts, scoring a first-half header before John McGinn doubled the lead in the second half.
Lille had a goal ruled out for offside before putting their foot in the door and narrowing Villa’s advantage to one goal, as Bafode Diakite gave his side some hope to take into the second leg.
While Watkins earned a host of praise for netting his 25th goal of the season, the Englishman wasn’t the only Villan to be lauded for his display against Lille.
TNT Sports pundits brand John McGinn as ‘magnificent’ for moment vs Lille
Despite opening the scoring after just 13 minutes, all was not calm for Villa who were threatened in waves by Paulo Fonseca’s lively side.
That was until captain McGinn stepped up to extend the host’s lead to two just before the hour mark, seeing the Scotsman earn high praise from TNT commentary duo, Paul Dempsey and Lucy Ward.
Dempsey said: “Magnificent John McGinn. It was pretty special.”
Ward agreed with Dempsey, emphasising the quality that the Scotland international showed to score the eventual winner.
“When you’ve got the technical ability of McGinn, even when the ball is fizzed at you on the edge of the box, you can just pass it into the net. Great little curl into the bottom corner, passed into the net.”
John McGinn showed his worth for Aston Villa against LOSC Lille
It was a captain’s performance for McGinn, who not only stepped up to show his quality to finish his goal but led by example for his side.
The 29-year-old scored the all-important second goal and claimed an assist for curling in the corner for Watkins’ opener, reinforcing how critical he is to Emery’s plans.
From being asked to do the dirty work in midfield to being capable of producing sparkling moments in the final third, McGinn proved once more why he is Villa’s captain with his display against Lille.
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