McGinn praises ‘mature’ Villans

John McGinn praised Aston Villa’s ‘mature’ performance, after they recorded a 2-1 victory over reigning Premier League Champions Manchester City.

Up against a “world class” outfit, the Villa captain stressed the importance of he and his teammates sticking to their gameplan, which he felt they did.

McGinn argued Unai Emery’s side were at their best, and that the showing from the Villans was one which had everything.

Speaking after the game, he said: “Man City are one of the best teams in the world, reigning champions.

“They’ve been on a bad run of form, and we’ve not been at our best ourselves, so today it was a dangerous game. We had to be at our best, and we certainly were.

“They’re full of world class players, a team that everyone should respect, so we had to be on the ball every single second, every minute.

“Today was a mature performance. We listened to the gaffer’s gameplan. Last night we were watching loads of clips of Man City.

“So, credit to the boys. We stuck to that gameplan. It certainly was tiring those last five minutes. It was tough, but we managed to get over the line.”

With Amadou Onana’s return to the starting line-up meaning a slightly more advanced role for Youri Tielemans, the Scottish international was also quick to credit the versatility of Villa’s forward-thinking players.

He admitted the belief and persistence throughout the side were key factors contributing to the triumph.

McGinn added: “We had a lot of belief, I think. We’ve got a few versatile players.

“Myself, Morgan and Youri can shuffle around, and we managed to do that seamlessly.

“There was a lot of thinking going on in the game, a bit of a chess match, but that’s the way football is going.

“It’s about who focuses the longest, and thank goodness where was only four minutes added!”