Aston Villa player ratings v Club Brugge: Tyrone Mings, what have you done?! Defender’s awful mistake condemns Unai Emery’s side to shock Champions League defeat in Belgium
The defender, on his European debut, bizarrely handled the ball in the area after a pass from Emiliano Martinez, gifting Brugge their only goal.
FAST DOWNLOAD
Aston Villa came into the game with a perfect Champions League record but slipped on a banana skin in Belgium, as Club Brugge ran out deserved winners thanks to Hans Vanaken’s expertly-taken penalty, and Tyrone Mings’ awful mistake.
Just before the half-hour mark, Brugge worked an angle, and hit the post, before Emiliano Martinez was forced into an excellent save.
The Belgian side continued to ratchet up the pressure, and Villa were left hanging on going into the second half, with Martinez making no fewer than five saves in the opening 45 minutes.
Within the first five minutes off the second half, Mings conceded a penalty in bizarre circumstances. Martinez took a goal kick and passed the ball short to the defender, who inexplicably picked it up, seemingly unaware play had restarted. The referee awarded a spot-kick, and Vanaken scored from 12 yards.
Villa did what they could to try to turn the game around, with Jhon Duran introduced from the bench, but Brugge were so effective defensively that they couldn’t work a legitimate opening, as their perfect European record surprisingly went up in smoke.
GOALÂ rates Aston Villa’s players from Jan Breydel Stadium…
-
AFPGoalkeeper & Defence
Emiliano Martinez (7/10):
Busy in the first half, making five saves to keep Villa level. Sent the wrong way by the penalty but was let down by Mings’ stupidity. A shame, as he was Villa’s best player.
Ezri Konsa (5/10):
Did far more chasing back than he might have expected due to the quick feet of Christos Tzolis and couldn’t push on as a result.
Diego Carlos (5/10):
Booked early on. Some decent passes out from defence but appeared cowed by his early yellow, as another slip would have resulted in a red.
Tyrone Mings (3/10):
Booked in the first half. Cleared off the line in the first half but was utterly inept to concede a penalty by picking the ball up. Subbed just after the hour. A disastrous display.
Ian Maatsen (5/10):
Struggled a little against Skov Olsen’s direct running. Got forward when he could but didn’t really impact the game in the final third.
-
AFPMidfield
Boubacar Kamara (6/10):
Struggled to get up to the speed of the game and it allowed Brugge the opportunity to attack regularly in the first half. Grew into proceedings but his industry was for nothing.
John McGinn (5/10):
Should have scored in the first half but sent a header over from six yards. Always busy but lacked quality and was subbed.
Youri Tielemans (5/10):
Sprayed passes around with ease and got up and down as best he could but Brugge’s press eventually overwhelmed his ability to dictate the tempo back in his homeland.
-
-
AFPAttack
Leon Bailey (4/10):
Peripheral. When he did get to the byline, which wasn’t often, his deliveries simply weren’t good enough.
Ollie Watkins (5/10):
Flashed an effort just wide in the first half. Competed well in the air but was largely starved of any decent service. Subbed with 10 to go. Disappointing.
Morgan Rogers (4/10):
Just couldn’t get himself into the game and was subbed in the second half as Villa chased the game. A bitterly disappointing evening.
-
AFPSubs & Manager
Jhon Duran (6/10):
Replaced McGinn as Emery shifted his tactics. A more physical option than Watkins but he faced the same problem of a paucity of decent service.
Jacob Ramsey (6/10):
Replaced Rogers. Ticked Villa over in low-key fashion.
Pau Torres (6/10):
On for Mings. Couldn’t exactly do any worse.
Emiliano Buendia (N/A):
On for Watkins late on.
Kosta Nedeljkovic (N/A):
A late introduction.
Unai Emery (4/10):
Got this badly wrong. Made changes to his Villa side but they lacked cohesion and fluidity, and his substitutions did very little to change the game state. Brugge ultimately were deserved winners, even if their goal did come via a monumental mistake.
