Tyrone Mings made his first match as a Champions League starter in Aston Villa’s 1-0 defeat against Club Brugge on Wednesday evening.
Unai Emery’s side came into this match with three wins from three games, but he decided to make changes ahead of the trip to Belgium.
Aston Villa had suffered a disappointing defeat against Tottenham in their last match, which necessitated the inclusion of new faces in the starting XI.
Mings suffered a season-ending injury last year and only returned to the pitch last month, making this his first start in Europe’s elite competition – but this s It turned out to be an evening to forget.
The first half performance was rather poor and slow, with very few chances created, with Emi Martínez saving his team on several occasions.
However, early in the second half the strangest situation arose, leading to a penalty for the hosts and leaving Aston Villa reeling.
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This is becoming the norm in modern football, where a central defender stands virtually motionless next to his goalkeeper during a goal kick.
This was the case for Martínez and Mings, but the difference was that the Englishman did not realize that his goalkeeper had taken the kick and collected the ball at his feet.
The on-field referee and VAR had no choice but to award the penalty, and Villa found themselves 1-0 down in the most bizarre circumstances.
Chris Sutton was very clear on his thoughts, regarding it as “pure stupidity” from the centre-back, as he told BBC Sport.
The former striker added that Mings was “absolutely mad” for his actions before being replaced by Pau Torres shortly after the hour mark.
Photo by René Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images
“That’s ridiculous,” Sutton replied. “Emi Martínez had left the ball to take the kick and passed it to Mings, who lifted it with his left hand. It was madness on the part of Mings, absolutely crazy.
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“What is he thinking? This is a lack of thought on Mings’ part. Pure stupidity.”
The England international is a popular figure among Villa fans, many of whom were devastated when he suffered a serious injury last season.
His return was highly anticipated, but it was surprising to see him thrown straight into battle, having only played one game since last year.
But when Mings was substituted, Sutton bluntly assessed the type of night he was having in Belgium, telling BBC Sport:
“Tyrone Mings could have done this at the age of three,” Sutton said. “Mings had a horrible night.”
Villa now find themselves on a poor run, with an even tougher challenge ahead as they prepare to travel to Anfield to face Liverpool this weekend.
