John McGinn’s reaction to being shown a straight red card on the weekend against Tottenham Hotspur has caused some confusion.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were able to take all three points from their trip to Villa Park on the weekend in what was an emphatic victory.
Proceedings were made easier at 2-0 up after the Villa captain lost his cool and was shown a straight red card.
John McGinn red card vs Tottenham
It was a moment which indicated Spurs had completely got the better of Unai Emery’s side when McGinn took out Destiny Udogie.
Spurs were ahead by two goals at that point and the Villa captain let his side down and pretty much ended any hope of a comeback.
The kick out on the Italian saw the Spurs players and bench erupt with anger, but it seems McGinn was still hopefully of VAR overturning Chris Kavanagh’s decision.
Speaking on the Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham podcast, Alasdair Gold said: “And there was this kind of ridiculous moment, it was right in front, kind of, the press box you can see it down there, he was heading off the pitch. And then I think he remembered the existence of VAR, John McGinn, and he stood, kind of, just on the pitch near the tunnel, just looking back as if to say, ‘are they going to overturn it?’
“Chris Kavanagh, the referee, just looked at him and just went, ‘get off’. He just waved at him and pointed like just get off. Like you think that’s ever gonna get overturned, and he just got to trudged off.”
Tottenham’s top four hopes
It was a game which had so much on the line for Tottenham. Defeat would have seen Villa climb eight points clear in fourth; instead they now sit two ahead having played a game more.
Suddenly, Tottenham hold the cards and Champions League football now rests in their hands.
It looks like it could be a straight shootout between Spurs and Emery’s side, but Villa could well have extra games to play.
Thursday will see Villa play their second leg of their Europa Conference tie against Ajax – which stands goalless.
A win for Villa will see them through to the next round and could potentially see them – subconsciously – put more focus on lifting the European trophy.
They will now also be playing three league games without their captain and their midfield options are already stretched with the injury to Boubacar Kamara.
It was a good weekend for Tottenham, but there is still a lot of football to be played and a lot of big games to come.
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