In the 86th minute, as Villa looked to take the sting out of proceedings, skipper McGinn was bundled over by the touchline. Emery’s reaction spoke volumes. Instead of calling for a free-kick, which would have provided huge relief, Emery ran toward McGinn and urged him to get up.

Manchester City and Aston Villa both won to keep the pressure on Premier League leader Arsenal. Nottingham Forest pulled further away from the relegation zone with a 3-0 against Tottenham and Sunderland beat Newcastle 1-0 in the Tyne-Wear derby after an own-goal from Nick Woltemade.