Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings bizarrely picked up the ball inside his own penalty area in the second half in the mistaken belief that Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez had not taken a goal kick. File Picture: Pool via REUTERS, Nick Potts
Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings made an embarrassing handball blunder that condemned his side to a shock 1-0 defeat against Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Mings bizarrely picked up the ball inside his own penalty area in the second half in the mistaken belief that Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez had not taken a goal kick.
The England centre-back appeared to think Martinez’s pass to him was not the restart in play, and he scooped up the ball to place it back in the six-yard box.
Hans Vanaken stroked home the resulting penalty to leave Mings stunned as Villa’s 100% record in this season’s Champions League came to an end in the most unusual circumstances at the Jan Breydel stadium.
It was a nightmare Champions League debut for Mings, who had recently returned to action after 14 months on the sidelines with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
But Unai Emery’s team could have few complaints about their first loss in four European matches after being outplayed by the Belgian champions.
“His mistake is completely strange. It’s the biggest mistake I witnessed in my career,” Emery said. “We lost one or two balls, but we were always in the position to recover, but this mistake is very, very strange.
“It’s not for Mings or Martinez – it’s one mistake that’s strange. It’s only happened one time in all my life.”
Villa had arrived looking for the win that would move them a step closer to automatic qualification for the Champions League last 16.
Instead, they were handed a third consecutive defeat in all competitions after Sunday’s dismal 4-1 defeat at Tottenham in the Premier League and the loss to Crystal Palace in the League Cup last week.
Villa, who topped the Champions League table after three games, are playing in Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since 1982/83.
They have already enjoyed a famous win over Bayern Munich this season, as well as victories against Young Boys and Bologna.
But now they need to beat Italian giants Juventus in their next Champions League fixture on November 27 to get their last 16 bid back on track.
Before that, Villa travel to Premier League leaders Liverpool on Saturday, with Emery searching for answers following their latest disappointing display.
AFP
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