Tyrone Mings was handed his first Champions League start during Aston Villa’s 1-0 Champions League defeat to Club Brugge on Wednesday evening.
Unai Emery’s side went into the game with three wins from three matches, but he rang the changes for the trip to Belgium.
Aston Villa were beaten at Tottenham last time out and their performance was lacklustre, so it wasn’t a surprise that fresh faces were brought in.
Mings suffered a season-ending injury last season and only returned to action last month, so he was making his first start in Europe’s elite competition, but he had a game to forget.
The first-half performance was pretty lacklustre and slow, with very few chances created and Emi Martinez bailing his team out.
But then, at the start of the second half, the most bizarre of situations and penalties were awarded to the home side and Aston Villa were shell-shocked.
Chris Sutton shocked by Tyrone Mings’ handball against Club Brugge
It’s the norm in modern football now where a centre-back is practically standing next to his goalkeeper when he is passing him the ball from a goal kick.
That was the case with Martinez and Mings, but the difference here is that the Englishman wasn’t aware that his keeper had taken the kick and proceeded to pick up the ball when it landed at his feet.
The on-field referee and VAR had no choice but to award the spot-kick and Villa were 1-0 down in the most odd circumstances you can think of.
Chris Sutton was pretty clear in his thoughts and he felt it was ‘sheer stupidity’ from the centre-back, as he told BBC Sport.
The former striker added that Mings was ‘absoutley crazy’ for his actions, before he was subbed off for Pau Torres just after the hour mark.
“That’s ridiculous,” responded Sutton. “Emi Martinez has put the ball down to take the kick and passed the ball to Mings, who scoops the ball up with his left hand. It is crazy from Mings, absolutely crazy.
“What is he thinking? It’s a brain freeze from Mings. Sheer stupidity.”
Mings’ performance for Villa against Brugge slated
The England international is a popular figure with Villa fans and many were gutted when he suffered his big injury last season.
His return has been long-awaited, but it was a surprise to see him thrown straight in given that he has only played one game since last year.
But when Mings was subbed off, Sutton brutally expressed the type of evening he had in Belgium, as he told BBC Sport.
“Tyrone Mings might have done it when he was three,” said Sutton. “Mings has had a minging evening.”
Villa are now in a serious bad run of form and it doesn’t get any easier because it’s a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool at the weekend.
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