Ajax need to ‘think outside the box’ and try to get John McGinn sent off, to give them a chance of beating Aston Villa on Thursday.
That’s according to journalist Henk Spaan, who believes McGinn’s red card against Tottenham on the weekend had provided Ajax with a game plan for their Europa Conference League clash.
McGinn was shown a straight red for a wild challenge on Spurs defender Destiny Udogie in the clash on Sunday, with his side already two goals down courtesy of strikes from James Maddison and Brennan Johnson.
His departure in the 65th minute was the low point in a disappointing afternoon for the Villans, who went on to lose the game 4-0 thanks to two late goals from Son Heung-min and Timo Werner.
He was heavily criticised after the game and even blamed for essentially ending Aston Villa’s chances of getting something from the fixture, even if they were 2-0 down at the time.
Spaan isn’t going down that route, though, and instead believes the moment may have identified a weakness for Ajax to exploit when they face Aston Villa on Thursday.
“Villa will face West Ham on Saturday, who not only have Kudus and Álvarez, but also Lucas Paquetà and Kalvin Phillips,” he said.
“Villa is only one point ahead of Tottenham, with a game more played. If they lose to West Ham, a chance that I think is quite high, achieving a CL place will become increasingly difficult. That causes stress.
“Emery, who won the Europa League four times, became champion of France and won the French Cup twice, said after the 4-0 loss to Spurs that his players had to keep their emotions under better control.
“McGinn, a hot-headed Scot, got red. Here I see a task for Henderson. He probably knows McGinn and seems like someone who knows trash talk like Spike Lee. We have to think outside the box: make sure they get red. Then Ajax has a chance.”
