Aston Villa’s 100% record came to an end with a deserved defeat sealed with a bizarre penalty conceded by Tyrone Mings.
Aston Villa travel to Club Brugge looking to make it four wins from four (17:45 GMT)
It was a poor Villa performance all round.
They gifted Brugge their goal but they were sloppy defensively on a few other occasions too, and poor on the ball when they tried to build from the back.
Once they were behind they did really not do enough to get back into the game. Their quality on the ball was way below their usual standard and there was not enough energy in their team. They are usually so creative in possession but their final ball was not good enough to break Brugge down, and I was particularly disappointed by their set-pieces.
Aston Villa conceded a bizarre penalty in a 1-0 loss at Club Brugge on Wednesday which ended their perfect start to the Champions League group stage.
What had been a lethargic performance for Villa turned absurd in the 52nd minute when Tyrone 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.
Beyond the bizarre incident, the Belgian champions were the better side on the night forcing Martinez to make several key saves to keep his team in the game.
Unai Emery’s team, who had won their opening three games of their first Champions League appearance in 41 years, have nine points after four matches, leaving Liverpool top of the table as the only team with a 100 per cent record. Brugge moved provisionally up to 20th in the table on six points.
Villa’s perfect start to their Champions League campaign is over, thanks to a bizarre penalty conceded by Tyrone Mings, who picked up the ball from Emi Martínez’s pass, and converted by Hans Vanaken. It was a strange way to score but the hosts were good value for the result, and could have scored more against disjointed and tired-looking opponents. A tough night for Villa, who have now lost three in a row in all competitions.
Villa had a goal kick, and Martínez flicked the ball towards Tyrone Mings, who didn’t immediately react. The defender then turned around, picked the ball up, placed it on the six-yard line, and passed it to Martínez. He didn’t realise the ball was in play, but Club Brugge players did, and protested vehemently. The penalty was given, and while it’s a very weird penalty, I can’t see that the referee had much choice.
Hans Vanaken steps up and fires it low down the middle, Martínez dives right, and Club Brugge lead. Now, to explain how we got here …
Mercy me. Tyrone Mings has just conceded one of the strangest penalties you’ll ever see!
The crowd want the final whistle. The Club Brugge players waste some time on a throw in and the referee finally blows up!
Scenes of jubilation from the home side.
I am slightly worried for Villa and the form they are in. There's a lot of Premier League clubs complaining about fatigue, it's about squad depth. The performance was so flat this evening.
“Was Mings’ arm in an unnatural position?” honks Tim Woods.
As Fredrik Lorentzson points out, there was a similar incident in Arsenal’s quarter-final with Bayern Munich, when Gabriel handled the ball from David Raya’s pass. “The Swedish referee Nyberg did not give a penalty, but later called it ‘a kid’s mistake’.”
Here’s a clip of the penalty, prime Own Goals and Gaffes stuff if anyone fancies reviving the franchise.
A disjointed, tired-looking game from Villa. You’ve got to feel for Mings there, but he’ll laugh about it one day (hopefully).
Bonkers! Madness from Mings. Villa tonight got what they deserved. Brugge were the better team and Villa going through a phase in the season where it all feels a bit flat.
Speaking of Bayern, their home game against Benfica is kicking off 15 minutes late, due to a signalling problem on the subway heading to the Allianz Arena. Other games include PSG v Atlético and Inter v Arsenal – you can follow the latter match here:
Fredrik Lorentzson writes: “As a Bayern Munich fan you ask yourself: did we lose to these guys? Really? I guess they played better that night …”
What Unai Emery will be concerned about is fatigue. It is not going to get easier - Aston Villa have got Liverpool at the weekend.
You can watch every Champions League goal on this page at from 22:00
You can listen live to this game on BBC Radio 5 Live, including via the top of this page.
And also you will be able to watch highlights on this page from 22:00 GMT - in the UK.
Watch Champions League highlights on BBC One from 22:50
No matter for Club Brugge, they’ll be delighted. It is their first win over an English club in 14 European games, drawing three and losing 11 since a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1995.
