Former Scottish footballer Alan Rough has claimed that John McGinn ‘bossed the game’ when Aston Villa recently beat Manchester United.
The Scotland international played the full 90 minutes as his side claimed a memorable 1-0 away victory against the Red Devils – their first win at Old Trafford in 12 years.
Speaking about the game on the PLZ Football Show, Rough claimed that McGinn ‘was magnificent’ and shone above the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba.
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He said: “The pleasing thing for me from that game is, as you say, they all talk about Ronaldo and Fernandes and the players, and the Pogbas – John McGinn, he just was magnificent, he just bossed the game.
“And his touch and you can see the aggression. They just couldn’t handle him. You know, the way he was putting himself about. And it just shows you don’t need to be a big name to be a big star.”
TIF Thoughts on John McGinn and Aston Villa…
Rough certainly isn’t alone in thinking McGinn is deserving of a lot of praise for his performance against United. Indeed, in the BBC’s match report, he was named as man of the match with an 8.07 rating.
Fernandes, Ronaldo, and Pogba picked up ratings of 4.42, 5.29, and 4.44 respectively, which also suggests Rough was right to claim the Scottish midfielder ‘bossed the game’.
The win takes Villa up to eighth in the league, which will come as great news for the club’s fans who will likely hope to see their side push for a spot in one of the European competitions this season.
If McGinn continues to dominate the midfielder, the Villans could well find themselves in Europe next year.
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