Aston Villa had nine points out of nine and had not yet conceded a single goal in the Champions League before visiting Club Brugge. A huge error has thrown all these beautiful statistics into the trash.
In the 51st minute, the lights went out in the head of English defender Tyrone Mings. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez wanted to give him the ball on a six-yard clearance for Aston Villa, but Mings… took it in hand, before putting it back on the line of the small rectangle.
Referee Stieler did not hesitate and pointed to the penalty spot. At Club Brugge, everyone saw him immediately. “It was a good pass from the goalkeeper, there are no half measures, no hesitation. Everyone saw it, it’s a gift for us” commented Nicky Hayen at a press conference.
Unai Emery had never seen anything like it
In the English ranks, the reactions were, obviously, very different. “It’s weird,” said coach Unai Emery, still not seeming to believe what had just happened.
“It’s the biggest mistake I’ve experienced in my career as a coach. You can’t make such a serious mistake at the start of the construction of an action. If I had already seen that? I wouldn’t I only saw this once in my life, today!”
“What did the players say about this? We need to quickly forget about this. This will never happen again in my life, it will not happen again.” The return to the hotel must have been eventful for Tyrone Mings…
