Aston Villa captain John McGinn had an afternoon to forget against Tottenham after the Scotsman was sent off during Villa’s 4-0 defeat, with his actions branded as “too hard” by Leicester City defender Conor Coady.
Aston Villa suffered an abysmal 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham on Sunday afternoon, a result that dented Unai Emery’s side’s hopes of finishing in the top four.
The hosts went into the contest five points clear of Spurs, with the gap now narrowed to just two points, made more alarming as the Lilywhites have a game in hand on the Midlands club currently in fourth.
Second-half goals from James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Heung-min Son and Timo Werner saw the Villans ripped apart in front of their fans.
To top off what was a damning day for Villa, captain John McGinn was shown a straight red card for a cynical foul on Destiny Udogie in the 65th minute, subsequently encouraging Spurs to open the floodgates.
What Conor Coady said about the sending off of John McGinn against Spurs
While it was unfortunate to see McGinn head prematurely down the tunnel, it was a decision that was unable to be argued as he went crashing into Udogie to see his afternoon cut short.
On BBC Radio 5 Live, Leicester City defender Conor Coady sympathised with the Scotsman however, was understanding of the visitors’ erratic reaction to the foul.
“He is trying to stop the counterattack we have all been there but he has obviously gone in a bit too hard.”
“I’d be gutted seeing my teammate being sent off for that but at the same time I do understand the reaction from the Tottenham bench and players’ reaction because it was a real, strong challenge from McGinn.”
At the point of the 29-year-old’s dismissal, the score was sat at 2-0, with Spurs then cutting Villa open to net a further two late on.
John McGinn was one of Aston Villa’s best players before being sent off
It was a shame to see McGinn of all players sent off, as the Scotland international was ironically one of Villa’s best players during his time on the pitch.
Coady gave a nod to Emery’s captain’s efforts during the fixture, dubbing his exit as “really disappointing” for the hosts to have to deal with.
“McGinn was the one who was driving Aston Villa. He was absolutely driving Aston Villa.”
“He was somebody who was really pushing them in this second half trying to get them on the front foot.”
“To see the captain go off and see one of the main players go off is really disappointing for Villa.”
As painful as the result was in relation to what could have been, Villa must look forward with 10 games yet to play in the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, with a host of opportunities to keep their top four hopes alive.
