John McGinn makes honest Newcastle United admission as Champions League race heats up

Newcastle United were put to the sword by Aston Villa and John McGinn on Saturday night.

Going into the game, Newcastle United had won six matches in a row and were full of confidence amid their mission to qualify for the Champions League.

However, Unai Emery did his best to derail that momentum at Villa Park. Aston Villa beat Newcastle 4-1, comfortably swatting away Jason Tindall’s side.

The defeat exposed Newcastle’s lack of depth, while it also strengthened Aston Villa’s hopes of returning to the Champions League. However, those hopes then took a fresh hit on Tuesday night as they lost to Manchester City.

John McGinn says Aston Villa ‘owed’ Newcastle United one
Had Saturday’s game gone a different way, Newcastle United would be feeling extremely confident about qualifying for the Champions League.

That is why John McGinn has told Sky Sports that his side were determined to come out on top, admitting that Villa ‘owed’ Newcastle United one after losing 3-0 at St James’ Park earlier in the season.

“Everyone was aware that if Newcastle got a point or beat us, it would have been very unrealistic to catch them,” he said.

“We would have given it a bash, but it would have been really unrealistic.