'Everything that could go wrong, did' - McGinn reflects on Olympiacos defeat

By Sports Desk May 03, 2024 302

Aston Villa captain, John McGinn said that “everything that could have gone wrong, did” after their Europa Conference League semi-final first-leg defeat to Olympiacos on Thursday.

Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for Olympiacos, netting twice in the first half, though Villa fought back through Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby.

El Kaabi converted a spot-kick before a deflected Santiago Hezze strike put the visitors back in control.

Douglas Luiz also missed a late penalty, leaving Villa with a two-goal deficit to overturn in the second leg next Thursday.

Asked what he felt went wrong for the Villans, McGinn, speaking to TNT Sports, said: "Not the game we wanted. We wanted a lot more control. We started the game well.

"They're a good side. We wanted a victory going to Greece. We showed we're capable of coming back.

"Mistakes all round tonight. We'll take responsibility, but it's up to us to go to Athens and turn it around because we're capable.

"They played very well tactically. They played the way we expected, so there were no surprises.

"Everything that could have gone wrong tonight did."

He added: "The manager was still positive in there. There's still a long way to go.

"We need to play a lot better than we did tonight, but we're more than capable of doing it.

"Hopefully we'll have a few players back. The onus is on us to attack Olympiacos and score some goals.

"We have a mountain to climb, but we know we're capable."

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Last modified on Friday, 03 May 2024 06:01
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