John McGinn had mixed emotions reflecting on Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Villa proved more than equal to their hosts, especially during the first half, and created their fair share of openings in west London, enjoying more shots, more on target and almost three times as many corners.
But it was the Blues who ran out 3-0 victors courtesy of Romelu Lukaku’s brace and Mateo Kovacic’s clipped finish.
Asked how he assessed the match, midfielder McGinn told VillaTV: “It’s a tough one.
“Chelsea are a top team but in the first half I thought we were better.
“We had great chances to score, we didn’t take them, but we were brave in the way that we played.
“Second half, a mistake early on gave them the momentum and a foothold in the game and they managed to see it out.
“A performance we can be happy with in the first half, but we’re never going to be happy with a 3-0 defeat.”
Scotland international McGinn added: “There’s not many teams who will come and challenge Chelsea the way we did in the first half, so we’ve obviously got to be happy with that.
“The way we want to go and the places we want to go, we want to come here and get at least a point.
“The overall feeling is disappointment but the signs are there that we’re starting to create chances in open play, which we weren’t doing before here.
“We’re certainly starting to gel but, as we know, we need to start getting results, and at home to Everton next week we need to start and get a win.”
You can watch John’s full interview below…
