It was a special night for John McGinn on Thursday, as the Aston Villa captain came off the bench to make his 300th appearance for the club during their 2-0 Europa League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv. The moment came just after Softfootball recently confirmed that he penned a new deal to stay at Villa Park until 2028 , something that felt almost meant to be.
McGinn replaced Jadon Sancho in the 75th minute, and that brief cameo was enough to put him in the record books once again. Since making his debut back in August 2018, the Scottish midfielder has now played more matches than any other Villa player in that time-overtaking Ezri Konsa, who's next in line with 251 appearances. Not bad for someone who once arrived from Hibs with a bit to prove.
The win also gave Unai Emery another milestone of his own, his 15th home European victory as Villa boss, and, quite fittingly, exactly three years since his first match in charge. The atmosphere inside Villa Park might not have been perfect, though. Due to rising tension before kick-off, police had to deal with protests around the ground, leading to 11 arrests and over 700 officers being deployed. In the end, no Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were allowed to attend for safety reasons.