Aston Villa: Gabby Agbonlahor in expletive-filled rage over John McGinn incident vs Tottenham
John McGinn’s straight red card as Aston Villa were thrashed at home by Tottenham was a hugely-damaging development all round.
The Villa captain was sent off with his side trailing 2-0 against their rivals for a Champions League spot for a hack at Destiny Udogie in the 65th minute, to end hopes of a comeback on a dismal day.
The home side were already reeling from a quick-fire double from James Maddison and Brennan Johnson after a tight first half and the frustration apparently boiled over for McGinn, but for the side’s leader to self-destruct left his undermanned teammates exposed.
Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman claimed it was a challenge made in anger, reacting live on the match commentary (2.23pm): “It was aggressive, that’s the number one thing to note. No intent at playing the ball. Udogie gets to his feet angry initially, then he says ‘actually I’m hurt’ and goes back down to ground.
“It is ugly, it’s a horrible tackle. It is the kind of tackle referees have been issuing red cards for because it’s cynical and it’s aggressive. The question is ‘is it dangerous?’ and that’s open to interpretation…
“It was a challenge of a player who was really angry at the way this game has gone. No excuse, but I think it was fuelled by anger.”
John McGinn slammed live on Sky Sports for Tottenham foul
It had otherwise been a relatively effective performance from McGinn but that all went out the window with the challenge as the Scotland international completely undercut his previous work.
According to SofaScore stats he had been efficient with the ball and without, completing 86% of his passes (12 of 14), including all three of his long balls (100%) and three key passes.
He had also been successful with both of his dribble attempts (100%) and won 10 of his 15 ground duels (66%), plus one in the air (100%), for a decent return from 32 total touches.
But it was the two fouls that ultimately characterised his day, with the second ending it altogether, leaving his teammates to collapse to two further stoppage-time strikes from Son Heung-min and Timo Werner, as the gap to fifth closed to two points and there was a huge eight-goal swing in goal difference.
Aston Villa captain throws away efficient performance with red card
That could yet prove crucial come the end of the season in the hunt for next term’s European spots, while the swipe at Udogie, which might have been worthy of a strong booking had he been going for the ball, will only add to the bad feeling between the clubs after Matty Cash’s clash with Rodrigo Bentancur earlier this year.
Former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor was enraged by Chris Kavanagh’s decision to show a red rather than a yellow card, posting on Twitter (10 March): “Yellow card yes but no way that’s a [expletive] red card!! [expletive] off man.”
He may have had a point were it just a late attempt to win possession, but the head loss from McGinn gave the official a decision to make and VAR didn’t overturn it.
For a man who has been so crucial in leading from the front under Unai Emery it was a surprise, and leaves the Spaniard without a key man in the centre of his line up for three games as he looks to bounce back from a terrible result.
In other Aston Villa news, a BBC pundit fears how the club would cope without one of their star men if he were to depart.
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