One Aston Villa player stunned PSG in first leg - he could be the Parisiens’ surprise kryptonite

Aston Villa’s hopes of progressing to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals are hanging by a thread following Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat away at Paris Saint-Germain.

Morgan Rogers opened the scoring at the Parc des Princes but stunning goals from Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes turned the tie down its head. PSG certainly deserved to win but the third goal was a dagger in the heart of all in claret and blue as the mountain to be climbed next week at Villa Park is all the steeper.

One man could help soften the blow, though, and he was in an outstanding form out in Paris. The captain, the leader, the man who has been through it all with this football club. Super John McGinn.

Instrumental in Rogers’ surprise early goal by winning back possession out of nowhere and kick-starting the counter-attack, McGinn showed why he can be the difference maker, even at this level. He may not be the knight in shining armour, and he may not score copious amounts of goals like Ollie Watkins or Marco Asensio, but he always works his absolute socks off.

Against a PSG side that likes to press very high, work rate is essential and McGinn has one of the best engines in the business. There are games he tries a little too hard and ends up giving the ball away but he’s always trying to be positive, at least.

Not only that, but his low centre of gravity and ability to shake off defenders make him very effective on the transition. The way McGinn backs into opponents and shrugs them off like it’s nothing has become rather a trademark of his game and even the world’s best teams struggle to deal with it.

Villa could have PSG’s kryptonite up their sleeve

The Scotsman’s attributes make him the perfect player to help Villa earn some reprieve from the relentless pressure Luis Enrique’s side drum up. That was certainly the case in Paris, as Rogers’ goal was a direct result of McGinn arriving out of nowhere to claim possession and turning defence into attack in an instant.

McGinn's rear end could unironically be PSG's kryptonite. Yes, you read that right. There simply aren’t many players in world football who are small yet surprisingly so strong, while his ability to swivel with the ball at his feet makes him a tricky customer to cope with.

To have a chance of beating the world’s best, sometimes you need to use a bit of old-fashioned hold-up play, and McGinn is a great outlet for that. Typically centre-forwards do it best, but McGinn works well at shifting play between the lines – and he can often kickstart the counters himself by winning possession.

That pattern should be recognisable again as Villa seek to overturn their deficit. It won’t be easy, but if Villa win it will be because Super John McGinn is on song.