‘Jadon was man of the match’ – McGinnpublished at 22:23 GMT 19 March
Aston Villa 2-0 Lille (agg 3-0)
Aston Villa’s John McGinn speaking to TNT Sports: “Delighted. It was a slow first half, personally as well
trying to get back up to speed. It wasn’t a pretty performance but the main thing
is we are in the quarter-final.”
On Emi Martinez’s pass for his goal and Jadon Sancho’s performance: “It was brilliant from Emi but it highlights Jadon’s
performance, his best in a Villa shirt. He was man of the match tonight by a
mile. The manager was giving me grief before the game to make sure I get in the
box and he gave it to me.
“They defended very well in the first half but we
did go a bit more direct in the second half, the manager tweaked it and it paid
dividends.”
On his return from injury: “It is difficult when the team is not doing well and you’re
in the physio room. I got over it pretty quickly, I knew it could have been
more serious and I just wanted to do my rehab properly. I’ve made mistakes
before, trying to cut corners with rehab but I didn’t do that this time.”
On goal target for this season: “I never used to set goal targets but the manager sets
targets on the forward players. I want to try to target 10 goals every season,
I’ve not managed to do that yet but hopefully this season is the year. It is up
on us forward players and wide players to take the pressure off Ollie [Watkins].”
On Martinez: “He’s a mad man. I know he’s a family man but he is a big kid
inside, a lively character and a top goalkeeper but even at 2-0 he made a great
save.
“It was great to get a clean sheet, good performance and send the Villa
fans home happy. Hopefully it is the same on Sunday.”