Aston Villa cruised to an impressive 2-0 victory over Bologna in the Champions League.
Unai Emery’s men continued their incredible winning run in the competition after seeing off Young Boys and Bayern Munich.
The Spanish tactician made four changes to the Aston Villa side that beat Fulham on Saturday, with Ezri Konsa, Ian Maatsen, John McGinn and Jhon Duran all earning starts.
Villa were able to exercise their squad depth to devastating effect while putting in a performance to remember under the lights.
Morgan Rogers was magnificent, assisting Jhon Duran with a curling cross for the second but it was John McGinn who earned just as many plaudits for his opener.
Paul Merson compares John McGinn to Frank Lampard
Villa were handed a blow when John McGinn suffered a hamstring injury in the win over Wolves in September.
The 30-year-old missed the two draws against Ipswich Town and Man United along with the famous victory over Bayern Munich.
However, the Scotsman returned to the starting XI with a bang on Tuesday night, producing a relentless performance out of possession and quality on the ball.
McGinn opened the scoring with a long-range free kick. The Scottish midfielder whipped the ball from range and it evaded every single player before sailing into the far left corner.
Speaking while on Sky Sports commentary, Paul Merson saw shades of former Chelsea star Frank Lampard with the technique for his goal, citing how he whips the ball with his left foot and how it floats into the back of the net.
“It is John McGinn who scores it like Frank Lampard back in the day. It’s a free kick out on the right-hand side, this time he whips it in with his left foot,” Merson said.
“He just whips it in, but he makes sure that if no one touches it, then it is going to end up at the far post. It goes past, no one touches it and it floats into the far post. Frank Lampard used to do this with free kicks, whip it in, but always aim for the far post, and if no one touches it, it goes in.”
Emery has missed McGinn’s pressing
McGinn broke the deadlock with the opening goal and that sent Villa on their way to a deserved three points.
However, the midfielder was relentless with his pressing off the ball, never giving the opposition a moment to rest.
Considering he’s been injured for the past month, the energy he showed was frightening and what he offered out of possession set the tone for another brilliant win.
Villa supporters will have been pleased to see him returning to the starting XI, and he’s come back like he’s never left.
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