Aston Villa: John McGinn’s talent is tantalizing, even in a mundane appearance

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - JUNE 02: Miguel Layun of Mexico struggles for the ball with John Mcginn of Scotland during the International Friendly match between Mexico v Scotland at Estadio Azteca on June 2, 2018 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - JUNE 02: Miguel Layun of Mexico struggles for the ball with John Mcginn of Scotland during the International Friendly match between Mexico v Scotland at Estadio Azteca on June 2, 2018 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

John McGinn followed-up his Aston Villa debut with another tantalizing appearance in the claret and blue. The talent is there, even in a rather mundane, average 90 minutes on the pitch.

John McGinn followed-up his impressive Aston Villa debut with an excellent first half against Ipswich Town. The 23-year old Scotland international registered his second league assist in as many matches on Jonathan Kodjia’s opening header.

Akin to James Chester’s opening header against Wigan last week, McGinn was the distributor.

A wicked, pin-point right wing cross swung directly onto Kodjia for the score, 1-0 Villa over Ipswich. But it didn’t end there on the afternoon. McGinn preceded that cross with a dangerous dead ball on the 6th-minute. His swerving delivery evaded the Tractor Boys’ central defenders, Luke Chambers and Aristote Nsiala. Mile Jedinak was there to flash his header back across play, but no Villa player could connect. A few minutes later, from almost an identical free kick position (thank you, Jack), McGinn delivered another tantalizing ball into the box. It scampered out for a corner, but it threatened all the same.

About fifteen minutes passed between Kodjia’s goal and Ørjan Nyland’s disaster in net. Trevoh Chalobah equaled the scoreline, but Villa responded ferociously in the following minutes. Eventually, the team shrunk into complacency for the duration of the match.

Tayo Edun’s second yellow on the 39th-minute gave Villa a deep free kick in which James Chester was pulled down in the Ipswich box. A penalty wasn’t awarded, but on many days it would be. That’s the John McGinn effect – one where any mundane dead ball can be scoring opportunity for the claret and blue. With the right/left foot combination of McGinn and Jack Grealish, Steve Bruce has the weapons for any set piece imaginable.

Much like the rest of the team, McGinn disappointed in the second half. Put together, he had a rather bang average appearance. He had a smattering of good (the set pieces, successful dribbles) and a smattering of bad (65% passing accuracy, wasted two chances, zero tackles or interceptions).

But that might just be John McGinn moving forward. When he’s not fully on his game, he’s still a joy to watch. The talent is mesmerizing.