John McGinn is shown a straight RED CARD for a brutal tackle on Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie… as tempers flare on the touchline with Brennan Johnson confronting the Aston Villa captain
Aston Villa captain John McGinn was shown a straight red card by referee Craig Kavanagh for a brutal tackle on Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie, as Ange Postecoglou’s side gained ground on the Villan’s as they claimed a 4-0 win.
The visitors had taken a 2-0 lead in the second half, with Pape Matar Sarr playing a sensational cross to James Maddison, who tapped the ball in on the edge of the six-yard box to put Spurs ahead.
Brennan Johnson followed with the second just three minutes later. It was his fourth goal for Tottenham in the Premier League this season, with Postecoglou’s side breaking forward before Son Heung-min slid a ball to the young striker who curled home his shot.
Not long after, things went from bad to worse for Unai Emery’s side, with his squad reduced to 10 men. Udogie had received the ball in the far left corner of the pitch and moved forward before being bumped into by McGinn, who appeared to have no intention of playing the ball.
It was a tough challenge, with the Scotland international coming across to kick the Tottenham full-back’s right leg out from under him.
John McGinn (right) was shown a red card by referee Craig Kavanagh during Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon
The Aston Villa captain was sent off after taking down Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie with a brutal challenge in the second half
Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-min and James Maddison all confronted McGinn as things got heated on the sidelines
Udogie, who had fallen to the ground, immediately stood up and appeared to want to confront the Villa midfielder.
But after taking a step towards McGinn, he appeared to fall to the ground again, writhing in pain, after the midfielder caught him on the top of the shin.
Johnson, meanwhile, was furious at the challenge, with he, Maddison and Son arriving to confront McGinn before a host of bodies collided on the touchline, including both teams’ coaching staff and both managers.
Postecoglou and Emery both tried to pull the players apart, with the Spaniard grabbing McGinn and dragging him away from the crowd of players.
Once the brawl was over, Kavanagh wasted no time in showing the Aston Villa captain his marching orders, the second red card of his career.
He will now miss their trip to the London Stadium to play West Ham, their next match at home to Wolves and their trip to play Manchester City at the Etihad.
Ollie Watkins, meanwhile, described the Villa captain’s departure as ‘harsh’ but remained confident his side can still qualify for the Champions League.
McGinn will now miss Villa’s next three games against West Ham, Wolves and Man City
Unai Emery said the Villa captain ‘had no bad intentions’ when he took out Udogie
“I think sending away is harsh,” said the attacker. “Obviously it looks a bit reckless because it’s in front of their bench and it’s a big reaction on their part. It is clearly a difficult task.
‘If someone says you lose the match, but you end up with ten men, then I take that. John McGinn is so important to us. That’s the biggest nail in the coffin: he’s lost three games.
‘I believe in us, (Champions League qualification) is in our hands.’
While McGinn left the field, Udogie was able to continue after receiving some treatment from Tottenham’s medical staff.
It’s the second red card of McGinn’s career (pictured), with Ollie Watkins claiming the send-off was ‘harsh’
Spurs would take advantage of the mismatch in numbers with Son and a further two goals scoring a further two goals with Son scoring in the first minute of stoppage time before Timo Werner would close out the match with a fourth goal, the second of the German since his arrival at the North London outfit.
“After the red card it became even more difficult,” Emery told BBC Match of the Day.
‘I think John McGinn always plays with passion. It’s his second red card in 600 games, I think. I think he is always fair and very competitive. His intention is not evil.’
It means Tottenham have cut the gap to fourth-placed Aston Villa to two points, with Villa having now lost two of their last five Premier League games.