John McGinn makes Unai Emery Man United decision obvious in Aston Villa return vs Lille – here’s why
Aston Villa enjoyed an ideal start to their Europa League Round-of-16 tie with Lille on Thursday night.
Unai Emery took his Aston Villa side to France on Thursday, as they faced a tough first leg test against Bruno Genesio’s Lille.
It wasn’t the prettiest game of football for any neutrals watching, but Villa won’t care one bit, as Ollie Watkins’ 61st-minute looping header was the difference between the two teams on the night.
As such, Villa will take a 1-0 lead back to Villa Park ahead of the second leg next Thursday, with Emery’s men now firm favourites to progress into the quarter-finals of the competition.
- Read more: Jadon Sancho dreadful, Morgan Rogers talismanic again – Aston Villa player ratings vs Lille
John McGinn sends clear Unai Emery message vs Lille
All in all then, it was a great night in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy for Aston Villa, and it was one that also saw a return to action for John McGinn.
The experienced midfielder had picked up a knee injury in Villa’s 1-0 defeat to Everton in the Premier League back in mid-January, and hadn’t been seen since ahead of Thursday’s clash with Lille.
But, the 31-year-old was back in the matchday squad for the game, and with 13 minutes to play in the match, Emery summoned him from the bench to replace Douglas Luiz.
13 minutes, however, was all the Scotsman needed to reaffirm his quality and show Emery that he deserves to be back in the starting XI moving forward.
As per Sofascore, McGinn completed 100 per cent of his passes, crosses and long balls accurately against Lille, and registered an expected assists (xA) of 0.25.
He also won two of his four ground duels, made two recoveries, wasn’t dribbled past once and made two carries with the ball.
It was the kind of cameo that suggested had he been in from the start on Thursday night, then he may well have got amongst the goals, and possibly even put in a man of the match performance.
McGinn will surely take Leon Bailey’s spot vs Man United
Emi Buendia hasn’t been in great form of late for Aston Villa, but his assist for Watkins’ goal may just be enough to see him keep his place in the starting XI for Sunday’s clash with Man United at Old Trafford.
However, Leon Bailey was dropped to the bench against Lille in favour of Jadon Sancho, but he can’t play against his parent side this weekend.
Therefore, this presents a prime opportunity for McGinn to win back his place in the team out on the right flank, as Emery would surely feel more confident with him out there than Bailey, respectfully.
He showed more than enough in his 13-minute cameo against Lille that he’s fully fit, sharp and ready to handle a larger workload again, and that should start at Old Trafford on Sunday.
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