Aston Villa conceded a bizarre penalty in a 1-0 loss at Club Brugge on Wednesday which ended its perfect start to the Champions League group stage and left Tyrone Mings with a red face.
What had been a lethargic performance for Villa turned absurd in the 52nd minute when Mings inexplicably picked up the ball, believing it was not in play.
Villa keeper Emi Martinez had just lined up a goal kick, sending a short pass to Mings, who then picked up the ball and gave it back to the Argentinian. The referee pointed to the penalty spot, and Hans Vanaken converted, to the delight of the crowd at Jan Breydel Stadium.
Beyond the bizarre incident, the Belgian champion was the better side on the night forcing Martinez to make several key saves to keep his team in the game.
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Unai Emery’s side, which won the opening three games of its first appearance in Europe’s elite club competition in 41 years, has nine points after four matches, leaving Liverpool top of the table as the only team with a 100% record. Brugge moved provisionally up to 20th in the table on six points.
It was an unfortunate Champions League debut for Mings, who recently returned after being out for 445 days due to a knee injury. The penalty was the only goal Villa has conceded in their European club competition campaign.
Arsenal got away with a similarly bizarre handball in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich last season when Gabriel picked up the ball to give it back to keeper David Raya.
Martinez headed directly for the officials after the final whistle to plead his case.
Villa’s World Cup-winning keeper was pressed into action early by Brugge, which had seven shots on target to the Premier League club’s one.
Ferran Jutgla was denied by the post before Christos Tzolis pounced on the rebound sending in a low hard shot that the Argentinian keeper pushed away with his fingertips after diving at full stretch.
Mings side-footed Casper Nielsen’s header off the goal line, and then Martinez was forced to make a diving save again from Ardon Jashari’s shot.
Villa’s John McGinn had a terrific first-half chance after Boubacar Kamara drove into the space before sending a looping ball over the top to McGinn at the back post, but the Villa captain’s header was just off target.
Villa’s loss was the latest in a string of disappointing performances for Emery’s side, which suffered a 4-1 league loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
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