Aston Villa’s victory against Manchester United was the team laying down a marker for the remainder of the 2021/22 season, according to a jubilant John McGinn.
The midfielder played his part as the club secured a first win against Manchester United in 19 games with a 1-0 success on Saturday.
And the Scottish international believes the result was a sign of the squad’s progress after an inconsistent start to the campaign.
He said: “It was brilliant. Not many teams will come here and get three points.
“It was huge for us to set a marker down for this season. It’s been an indifferent start to the season with a lot of new players trying to adapt.
“We’re missing a couple of big players as well, so it’s a huge, huge result. I’m sure everyone in claret and blue will be delighted.”
After Kortney Hause scored in the 88th minute, United were awarded a penalty when the Villa defender handled in the area.
Having kept some of the biggest names in football quiet for 90 minutes, McGinn was dreading the sight of Bruno Fernandes – who had scored three penalties in three games against Villa – stepping up for the spot kick.
“They’ve got some of the best players in the world. We’ve got players who are hungry to be that and trying to get to that level,” he said.
“Cashy put in another unbelievable performance down the right, Kortney was a monster and Tyrone was brilliant. That was one of the best players the world’s ever seen kept quiet today.
“I thought it was going to be typical at the end. I thought I’d be loading my phone up and seeing all my mates’ fantasy points for Fernandes, but thankfully he’s put it over the bar and the away end’s gone wild.
“We’ve also got young players coming into contribute – Jacob’s getting a run of games now and Cameron came on and worked hard. Positive signs and it’s a good place to be at the moment.”
