John McGinn believes Aston Villa are beginning to find rhythm after their hard-fought Europa League victory over Bologna at Villa Park.
The captain was once again the difference-maker, following up his Champions League goal against the Italian side last season with Thursday night’s decisive strike.
“It was important,” he said. “We got a bit nervy towards the end. They play mental football, man-to-man, and it reminds me of (Marcelo) Bielsa when he was at Leeds.
“It’s tough and you need to be concentrating because they leave a few players up. You need to be clean going forward with the ball and I don’t think we were.
“I thought we were a little bit rusty going forward, but we created chances and we could have won by more.
“I thought we played better in the first half than the second, but the important thing was to get the win with a very important clean sheet with a good save from Marco at the end.”
The three points were celebrated by the home crowd, especially after a testing start to the season. McGinn acknowledged the team is still building but stressed the importance of turning this result into momentum ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Fulham.
“Some players are starting to click into form, but we’re a mile away from where we want to be.
“It’s very, very early on. We went on a long run without getting a win last season, and the manager has reminded us of that.
“We still know the quality that’s in there and it’s important for us to stick together and make sure we get wins here, especially.”
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