ASTON Villa captain John McGinn likened facing “energetic” Cherries last weekend to taking on Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa.

Between Cherries’ 2-2 draw with Manchester United and their trip to Villa Park, Unai Emery’s men had two taxing matches, winning 2-0 against Arsenal before progressing past Lille on penalties in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals in France.

Cherries led 1-0 against Villa on Sunday courtesy of a Dominic Solanke penalty, but the Champions League-chasing hosts rallied to win 3-1, with goals from Morgan Rogers, Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey, with Ollie Watkins playing a key role with two assists.

And McGinn admits there were some heavy legs in the squad going into the weekend.

“The boys dug in deep,” said the Scotland international.

“I thought the way we played was slightly different. We sat a bit deeper and the counter-attacks were brilliant.

“I thought it was Morgan’s best game in a Villa shirt and I would go as far as to say Ollie’s as well, which is a big shout. But I thought he was outstanding.

“It was a tricky one. When you’re tired, a team you don’t want to play is Bournemouth.

“They’re a bit like Bielsa’s Leeds. They go man for man, energetic all over the pitch.

“But I think the penalty was one of their only chances in the first half.

“We could’ve easily folded after that, but we got a great goal from Morgan before half-time and regrouped at the break.”

Iraola previously worked under Bielsa at Athletic Club in Bilbao. The Argentine managed 170 games for Leeds between 2018 and 2022, winning 81 and helping them clinch promotion to the Premier League.

Bournemouth Echo: Former Cherry Morgan Rogers pictured equalising

Rogers had a tough time on loan at Cherries in the 2021-22 season, his time on the south coast cut short having started just one league match in the Championship.

But the 21-year-old has since flourished, impressing at Middlesbrough before moving to Villa this January.

“I think his confidence is growing,” McGinn told the Daily Echo.

“He’s so strong, so powerful and he’s even surprised me a little bit.

“When he signed and first started training, it took him a while to get used to the way we were playing.

“But the last three or four games, he’s been outstanding.

“It’s great to see he’s playing football with a smile on his face and I wish I was that good at his age.”