Scotland midfielder John McGinn suffered a disastrous afternoon with his club Aston Villa after he was sent off in their 4-0 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Villa went into the match in fourth place, five points clear of fifth-placed Spurs, but that advantage has been cut significantly as Ange Postecoglou’s men ran riot at Villa Park. They were, however, helped by a 65th-minute red card given to Villa captain McGinn, who was sent off for a poor tackle on Tottenham left-back Destiny Udogie. The challenge caused both players and coaching staff to get involved in a fracas afterwards.

The visitors, who have a game in hand on Villa, were already 2-0 ahead by this point following goals early in the second half from James Maddison and Brennan Johnson. McGinn’s departure, though, made life significantly tougher for them and late strikes from Son Heung-min and Timo Werner made it an afternoon to remember for Spurs.

John McGinn is sent off by referee Chris Kavanagh during Aston Villa's 4-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.

It is only the second time in the 29-year-old’s senior career that he has received a red card, with McGinn’s only other dismissal coming for Hibs in December 2015 against Falkirk, which was subsequently rescinded on appeal.

Nightmare for John McGinn and Aston Villa as Scotland midfielder gets rare red card in crushing defeat by Tottenham