Commission the 'Super' John McGinn statue, a spicy huddle, and Emi Buendia goes prime Maradona as Aston Villa rout Forest to make Europa League final

If we needed any reminder of why Aston Villa have demoted John to middle-name status, this was it. 'Super' John McGinn produced one of the great midfield displays Villa Park has seen in recent years to send the hosts into the Europa League final and score a mini victory for those north of the border in the eternal England v Scotland rivalry.

McGinn was already a contender for player of the match before he arrowed one into the bottom-left corner, then another into the bottom-right shortly afterwards. In so doing, he upstaged Elliot Anderson - hyped as a potential £100 million transfer this summer - with an all-action performance laced with quality.

From his first skirmish with Anderson in the 10th minute, it was obvious this was McGinn's night. No one has benefited more from Unai Emery's stewardship, with the Scot answering the Spaniard’s demands for more goals in a new attacking role and increasingly becoming Villa’s man for the biggest occasions.  

Not that it was easy for Anderson, especially in a team that was structurally outnumbered in midfield and missing talisman Morgan Gibbs-White, only fit enough for the bench and sporting the most unsettling of scars after his heavy collision with Chelsea stopper Robert Sanchez at the weekend.

Anderson cut an increasingly frustrated figure as Youri Tielemans burst beyond him from deep and Emi Buendia buzzed around his shoulder all evening. While he had every right to feel aggrieved after a number of hefty challenges went unpunished, this was hardly the kind of statement performance to suggest he should be starting for England at this summer's World Cup.

As for McGinn? Time to commission the statue.

What's that? A small Argentine with a bit of panache? Yes please.

So much was expected of Buendia when he arrived at Villa Park from Norwich City in 2021 for a then club-record £33 million. But it never really clicked and his career threatened to drift when he suffered a serious ACL injury on the eve of the 2023/24 season, ruling him out for almost an entire year.

What has followed has been nothing short of remarkable.

McGinn will grab the headlines, but this night was also built on the foundations laid by the resurgent Buendia. After a bright opening without a clear-cut chance, the 29-year-old suddenly came alive in the 36th minute, twinkle-toeing through a forest of Forest legs before gifting Ollie Watkins the simplest of finishes.

Then, with Watkins and McGinn on the pitch, Buendia stepped up to bury a penalty beyond Stefan Ortega to put Villa two up on the night and ahead in the tie for the first time. Undoubtedly his finest hour in the Midlands.

Such was the bleakness of the night for Forest that the stadium announcer was reminding home supporters not to invade the pitch with more than 10 minutes remaining.

"4-0 on your big day out" came the mocking chants as the weary visitors slumped towards full-time.

Forest have done magnificently to drag themselves clear of danger in the Premier League, even if survival is not quite mathematically secured with three games remaining, but this felt like a step too far, with boss Vitor Pereira admitting as much afterwards, listing out all the injuries befalling his squad.

There will be no trophy, and no Champions League football - but preserving their top-flight status still looks a very decent consolation prize.

...and not the sort where players collapse from a sneeze, mime a television screen at the referee or take four light years to complete a goal kick - Ortega, we're looking at you. Or we were, before it all went wrong.

No, we need more of the nonsense that saw Forest amusingly set up camp in Villa territory before kick-off for the obligatory team huddle. Anything that causes fully-grown adults to froth with fury while staying just about on the right side of acceptable belongs in football.

Walking on the badge? Fine. A cynical foul to stop a three-on-two counter? Absolutely.

Forest's conduct helped crank up the temperature without crossing the line and, in an increasingly sanitised sport, that can only be a good thing - even if none of it actually worked.

- - -

Add TNT Sports as a preferred source here to enjoy more content like this.

Stream the Premier League, men’s and women’s FA Cups, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.