Aston Villa mounted a thrilling comeback to draw 3-3 with Liverpool on Monday night, although it was not enough to secure a Champions League spot just yet.
Villa needed to secure all three points to guarantee fourth-spot in the Premier League, but will now have to anxiously wait to see if Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester City on Tuesday night to take the Champions League race to the final day on Sunday.
Liverpool were 3-1 up when Unai Emery threw on Jhon Duran in the 79th-minute and the 20-year-old make a massive impact with two goals late on to earn a point.
All the talk will be about Duran’s contribution, but one Villa player was described as a ‘man possessed’ by an Aston Villa journalist.
John McGinn leads by example against Liverpool
That man was John McGinn.
It was a true captain’s performance from the Scotland international who battled on despite struggling with a knock to the ribs sustained in the first-half to help lead his side to an inspired comeback.
The Athletic journalist Jacob Tanswell was impressed with what he saw from McGinn, posting on ‘X’: “John McGinn is dribbling and running like a man possessed.”
McGinn proves he can do it all in Liverpool draw
McGinn started the game in a more advanced role, with the returning Youri Tielemans playing the deeper midfield role alongside Douglas Luiz.
McGinn took enormous responsibility as he covered every blade of grass and drove up the field despite undoubtedly feeling the strain of Thursday night’s European Conference League exit to Olympiacos.
When Tielemans went off in the second-half to be replaced by another returning player, Nicolo Zaniolo, McGinn dropped back to play deeper and kept pushing his teammates on right until the final whistle.
The 29-year-old was one of few players that could leave Greece on Thursday with their head help high and he was a standout performer again against Liverpool.
Emery has a real warrior in his ranks with McGinn and the £120k-a-week man looks determined to drag Villa to the Champions League no matter what it takes.
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