McGinn apologises to Villa fans after Olympiacos exit: No excuses, it’s an opportunity missed

John McGinn has labelled Aston Villa’s defeat to Olympiacos as “an opportunity missed” and a “frustration”, as Unai Emery’s men faltered in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Heading into Thursday’s second leg in Greece, the visitors were 4-2 down from the first leg, as an Ayoub El Kaabi hat-trick stunned Villa Park last week.

He was again the hero on home soil, first scoring against the run of play after 10 minutes, as Villa’s bright start was rapidly undone. The Premier League outfit retained 75% of the ball but could not make it count in the first half.

The game looked gone in the second period, and El Kaabi put the seal on the victory by netting a second 12 minutes from time, after a lengthy VAR check for what was initially flagged as offside.

The comprehensive scoreline came as a shock to the system for Emery, who was looking to reach a sixth European final, having weaved his magic to lift the UEFA Europa League four times in his career.

Reflecting on the tie, McGinn told TNT Sports: “Believe it or not, we actually started the game very well. The first half was a really good performance by us. But over the two legs, very disappointing.

“We went into the competition as favourites – we handled that pressure through the competition. It’s been a huge learning curve for us, it’s not been a smooth journey. We got to the semi-final down to the bare bones. However, those of us who were out there, we lost to the better team and the scoreline proves that.

“We’re extremely disappointed for everyone involved. We wanted to be in a European final and we’ll do everything we can to get in this position again and reach a final. Our instant feeling is absolutely gutted. There’s a lot of things we could’ve done better. But over the season we can be proud of the journey.

“We need to apologise to the supporters who travelled the whole campaign with us – we wanted to deliver a trophy to them. We’re all bitterly disappointed but we need a big push to get over the line for Champions League, which would be an astronomical achievement. But tonight the overriding feeling is frustration and an opportunity missed.”

That achievement mentioned by the Scotland international could be secured on Monday, as Villa take on Liverpool. A victory would clinch fourth spot in the Premier League – though it would also be guaranteed if Tottenham Hotspur lose any of their final three games.

It would mark the West Midlands club’s first appearance at Europe’s top table since 1982/83 – a season in which they were defending champions of the European Cup.

They will hope to welcome back the likes of Youri Tielemans and Nicolo Zaniolo for the season finale, with those stars among a whole host of Villans on the treatment table. Indeed, Jacob Ramsey, Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia are also out with longer-term issues.

On whether the lengthy injury list contributed to the 6-2 aggregate defeat, McGinn continued: “Possibly, possibly. But the manager drills into us that this is a no-excuse environment.

“Obviously you want your best players available, you want everyone there when you’re in the trenches – someone to change the game or do something different. But today the gameplan was perfect in the first half – we’ve got to be really proud of how we played.

“The goal was extremely disappointing. But the tie was lost in the first leg – the performance was unacceptable, we didn’t control the game well enough, we didn’t manage it. For us moving into European competition next season, we’ve got to manage it a lot better.”

Olympiacos will now travel across Athens to face Serie A side Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final, live on TNT Sports on May 29.

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