Aston Villa captain John McGinn has said he and his team-mates will have their “Man City tops” on tomorrow night as they moved a stepped closer to securing Champions League football.
Villa rallied from two goals down with just five minutes remaining to draw 3-3 against Liverpool and salvage a point, with substitute Jhon Duran scoring twice late on.
The point means Unai Emery’s men will qualify for the Champions League if Tottenham fail to beat Manchester City on Tuesday night, but if Spurs win it will go down to the final day with Villa heading to Crystal Palace, whilst their rivals travel to relegated Sheffield United.
McGinn on Champions League football
The game didn’t start well for Villa and they found themselves a goal down inside the first two minutes when the normally dependable Emi Martinez fumbled Harvey Elliot’s strike into his own net.
Villa fought back when Youri Tielemans finished from Ollie Watkins’ cut back before Cody Gakpo struck home to send Liverpool in ahead at the break.
There appeared to be no way back for the hosts after Jarell Quansah headed home Eliott’s free-kick for his first Liverpool goal, but Duran made the difference from the bench and ensured Villa didn’t slip to back to back defeats.
For McGinn and many others in the squad they have never been this close to Champions League football, and after the game the 29-year-old revealed he and has team-mates would have their City tops on tomorrow night.
“People keep writing us off but we are here”, McGinn told Sky Sports.
“We have flown under the radar quite nicely and we are so close to fourth place now, and we will have our Man City tops on tomorrow night and see what happens.”
For McGinn it would be quite the story having swapped Hibernian for Villa in 20, and he was part of the team that got Villa promoted back to the Premier League.
The Villa captain has played a huge role for Emery’s side this season and has made 52 appearances in all competitions with 34 of those coming in the Premier League where he’s scored six times.