Champions League: Club Brugge 1 Aston Villa 0
There was hardly a murmur as Emiliano Martínez took a routine goal kick five minutes into the second half and then, a few seconds later, huge cheers from those decked out in Club Brugge blue and black as the ramifications of Tyrone Mings’s brain freeze suddenly dawned on them. The defender mistakenly assumed Martínez had not restarted play and so scooped the ball up, placed it on the edge of the six-yard box and proceeded to pass the ball to his goalkeeper.
Only the German referee, Tobias Stieler, and most of this stadium, were convinced the ball was in play and penalised Mings, who had been booked in the first half, by awarding a penalty but stopped short of reaching for a second yellow card. Hans Vanaken sent the subsequent spot-kick down the middle and the 19-time Belgian champions had the lead, albeit in peculiar circumstances.
Two years to the day since Emery’s first game in charge of Villa, a 3-1 win over Manchester United, it is worth remembering how far they have come, though given the disgusted look on his face as Vanaken rippled Martínez’s net, Villa’s manager probably won’t see it that way. On the night, Emery’s side were unpicked by Nicky Hayen, the Brugge manager who two years ago was in charge of Cymru Premier League side Haverfordwest County.
It would be wrong to suggest Brugge only prospered, abruptly ending Villa’s 100 per cent record in the Champions League, because of that decision. The hosts had been the better team, more dynamic, more dangerous. Ollie Watkins sent a first-half shot narrowly wide and John McGinn fluffed an awkward header but they struggled to penetrate Brugge, for whom the centre-back Joel Ordonez enjoyed a fine game. The Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara pulled a shot wide with four minutes of normal time remaining on the clock.
The former Liverpool and Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was not troubled in the first half but down the other end Martínez had to be on his toes to ensure things were goalless at the interval. Brugge had a flurry of chances, including two in the 30th minute, the first of which saw Ferran Jutglà fire a shot against a post, via a thin Martínez paw. Brugge smelt blood and seconds later Martínez flew down low to get a left hand to Christos Tzolis’s curled right-foot effort. Perhaps it was pure coincidence that Villa’s band of substitutes, including Jhon Durán, headed out to warm up moments later.
Villa were on the ropes. A few minutes later Maxim De Cuyper sent a teasing cross into the box, from which Casper Nielsen glanced a backward header goalwards. prompting Mings into a panicked, hooked clearance. Ardon Jashari was first to the rebound and drilled a shot at Martínez. Mings was one of five changes and one of three in defence, with the Villa defender partnering Diego Carlos at centre-back. Neither looked at ease with both booked in the first half, Carlos for dissent. The former Norwich forward Tzolis caused problems and dovetailed neatly with Andreas Skov Olsen. Emery was in a rush to get down the tunnel before the half-time whistle blew. For Mings, this his second start after 14 months out injured, it proved a European debut to forget.
It had been a low-key start to the second half and then Mings’s bizarre error gave Brugge a leg-up, though their adventure probably deserved one. Ian Maatsen, another change from Villa’s defeat at Tottenham on Sunday, made an important clearance to prevent Olsen reaching a devilish cross by the substitute Joaquin Seys at the back post and another sub, Bjorn Meijer, went close to a second with a bending effort. Villa got what a lukewarm performance merited, a third successive defeat via a peculiar episode that Mings and everybody of a Villa persuasion will wish to forget in a hurry. – Guardian
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
