John McGinn has showered one Aston Villa star with praise after his involvement in the 3-0 win over Young Boys on Tuesday night.
Aston Villa were emphatic on their return to the Champions League after scoring three goals against the Swiss outfit.
Despite playing on an artificial pitch that caused Villa problems in the opening exchanges, goals from Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey and Amadou Onana handed Unai Emery’s men all three points.
For John McGinn it would have been a special moment as the Scotland international captained the Villans, writing his name in the history books.
McGinn was his usual energetic self in Bern, setting the tone with his pressing and grabbing an excellent assist for Tielemans opener.
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John McGinn calls Aston Villa teammate Youri Tielemans the best finisher in Europe
Villa’s first goal of the night was well executed. It came straight from the training ground as set-piece coach Austin MacPhee again earned his flowers.
Lucas Digne took a short corner to McGinn, who whipped the ball beautifully to the back post for Tielemans to expertly bring the ball down and arrow a strike straight into the bottom corner.
This was only the Belgian’s fourth goal for Aston Villa after joining on a free transfer in 2023 but that didn’t stop McGinn from lauding Tielemans as ‘one of Europe’s best finishers’ when speaking to TNT Sport post-game.
Considering Ollie Watkins scored 37 goals in all competitions last term, that was an interesting comment from the Scotsman.
Indeed, Tielemans doesn’t score many goals for the Villans but after this remark, perhaps fans should expect him to find the net more from range.
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Unai Emery deserves credit for Aston Villa’s tactics
Modern football is becoming increasingly saturated with managers who want to play a possession-based style that often doesn’t have any substance.
Years ago it would have been unheard of for teams in League Two to constantly play out from the back but the likes of Pep Guardiola have inspired other coaches to deploy a similar style of football.
That is frustrating for the supporters as teams lower down the football league don’t necessarily have the talent to build out from defence however, they will persistently do so.
It means that instead of going more direct and taking aim from range, some sides will try to walk the ball into the back of the net.
It is why many outsiders enjoy watching Aston Villa because they’re not afraid to mix things up when looking to score a goal and equally, they’re not afraid to shoot from range.
Jhon Duran’s long-range screamer against Leicester City at the weekend typifies why Emery is so successful, as he offers the license for his players to express themselves and he gets rewarded with moments like that.
Onana’s goal against Young Boys also showed the above, with the Belgian not afraid to shoot from range at a time when most are unwilling to pull the trigger.
