Aston Villa were knocked out of the Champions League in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night as they beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2, only to go out 5-4 on aggregate.
The Villans went 2-0 down early on but brilliantly battled back to put themselves 3-2 ahead on the night, only to fail to find a late equaliser to take the tie to extra time.
Irrespective of the final outcome, it was a sensational effort from Unai Emery’s team as they fought to the very last second to save their campaign, with impressive performers across the board – including Marcus Rashford.
Why Marcus Rashford is now undroppable
After a difficult start to the match, losing possession in the build-up to PSG’s first goal, the Manchester United loanee went on to play a key role in the spirited attempted comeback.
The England international completed four dribbles on the night and two of those came in the build-up to Ezri Konsa’s goal, as he impressively beat two defenders before putting the ball on a plate for the defender to stroke the ball into the bottom corner.
Rashford, who also had two shots on target on the night, was constantly trying to make things happen for the Villans – attempting nine dribbles – and provided the PSG defence with plenty of problems.
The United loanee has now produced three goals and two assists in his last seven appearances for Villa and should be undroppable at this point, due to his form in front of goal, but he is not the only player who should now be considered undroppable.
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Why John McGinn is undroppable
John McGinn stepped up with a phenomenal display for the Villans against PSG on Tuesday and should now be as undroppable as Rashford for Emery.
The Scotland international has not been a guaranteed starter at times this season, coming off the bench in each of the last two Premier League matches, but his showing against PSG should change that, as it was one that was rewarded with a 9/10 player rating by the Birmingham Mail.
McGinn, who also scored off the bench against Southampton last time out in the top-flight, was a constant nuisance to the PSG team with his all-action performance in midfield, getting stuck in as well as providing quality on the ball.
Minutes
66
Goals
1
Assists
1
Pass accuracy
75%
Dribbles completed
2/2
Duels won
4
Fouls
3
The Villa star, as you can see in the table above, made three fouls and won four duels to break up play, but he also scored a deflected strike from distance and teed up Youri Tielemans for his goal.
McGinn also had more touches (40) than the Belgian wizard (31), which shows that he was constantly taking responsibility in possession to make things happen, and lost the ball 15 times.
It was a terrific captain’s performance by the Scottish midfielder and one that should convince Emery to make him an undroppable figure in the team for the weeks to come.
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