Aston Villa star John McGinn scores and is headbutted in Scotland win v Armenia
Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn scored as Scotland won 4-1 against Armenia in Yerevan in the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday (14 June).
McGinn, 27, scored a beautiful goal in the 50th minute to help Steve Clarke’s side bounce back from a terrible 3-0 defeat to the Republic of Ireland in their last Nations League outing.
Scotland were helped by Arman Hovhannisyan and Kamo Hovhannisyan being sent off for Armenia with Hovhannisyan headbutting McGinn right in front of the referee after he’d fouled Nathan Patterson.
Stuart Armstrong and Che Adams were also both on the scoresheet for Scotland in Armenia with Armstrong grabbing two of the four goals.
Absolute class
There’s no denying that McGinn is Scotland’s best player.
The way he controlled the ball in the box, turned and shot was the sort of skill and finish that a top-class striker would be proud of.
McGinn’s not exactly known for his close control inside the penalty area and Villa fans see more of the former Hibernian star sitting in the middle, controlling possession and helping work his team up the pitch.
But with Scotland, there’s perhaps more room for McGinn to push forward and help out with the attacking players, which is the sort of artistic license he should be granted more often at Villa Park.
McGinn’s not had the happiest of international periods with Scotland, who were dumped out of World Cup qualifying by Ukraine and thrashed 3-0 by an average Ireland side in Dublin.
But he’ll be glad to have ended his time with the Tartan Army on a high ahead of joining up with Villa for pre-season training later in the summer.
In other Aston Villa news, Villa have no intention of selling Danny Ings.