John McGinn praises 'amazing' Unai Emery as Aston Villa reach Europa League final

McGinn celebrates scoring against Forest
McGinn celebrates scoring against ForestČTK / imago sportfotodienst / Andrew Yates

Aston Villa captain John McGinn was full of praise for his manager, Unai Emery, after they reached the Europa League final.

Villa came back from a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the first leg, beating them 4-0 at home to secure a spot in the final.

The Premier League side will now face Freiburg, who beat Braga, in the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20th, Emery’s sixth.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, McGinn, 31, was full of praise for the Spaniard.

McGinn stats vs Forest
McGinn stats vs ForestDarren Staples / AFP / AFP / Profimedia / Opta by StatsPerform

He’s experienced a lot more European semi-finals than us. In the Conference League semi-final, we probably went a little bit too gung-ho, but today we managed it,” he said.

He’s been amazing, but so have all the managers I’ve played under. Steve Bruce gave me the confidence to play in England, Dean Smith gave me the confidence to play in the Premier League, Steven Gerrard taught me how to be a leader.”

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