Club Brugge 1 – 0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa's perfect start to the Champions League came to an end after Club Brugge beat the Premier League team 1-0 with a bizarre penalty.

Referee Robias Stieler pointed to the spot after Tyrone Mings, making his debut in the competition, was surprised and caught a pass from Emi Martinez in his hands in his own penalty area.

Hans Vanaken converted from the penalty spot and ended his team's 14 winless streak against English opponents.

“His mistake is completely strange,” said Villa boss Unai Emery. “This is the biggest mistake I have made in my career.”

The penalty decision followed a disappointing first half from Villa, who faced an onslaught from the Belgian champions. Brugge had seen Vanaken press a shot against the post before Martinez reacted quickly and blocked the ball in what was a busy first 45 minutes for the goalkeeper.

Although Villa dominated the early possession statistics, Brugge dominated the chances, with Unai Emery's Villans managing just a single shot on target before the break, compared to five from the home side.

Villa's only opportunities before the break came when John McGinn headed Boubacar Kamara's cross from close range and Ollie Watkins' wayward shot from the edge of the Brugge penalty area whistled wide.

Emery had to step in from the bench and Jhon Duran came on in the hope of adding to his tally of two crucial goals in the competition, but the striker failed to make an impact.

Villa's defeat means Liverpool remain the only team with a 100 per cent record in the competition. Emery's side have now gone four games in a row without a win in all competitions, losing all of their last three.

Is trouble brewing for Emery's villa?

Villa's defeat at Club Brugge marked the anniversary of Unai Emery's first game as manager two years ago. In his first Villa game he beat Manchester United in a performance that was characterized by a wild Villa Park atmosphere. Villa's performance two years later was a far cry from that.

The unusual penalty shoot-out decision that led to a Champions League debut nightmare for Mings will dominate the headlines, but Villa were beaten by Brugge for the entire 90 minutes. Villa's performance was predictable, runs were hesitant and the Belgian champions were mostly comfortable.

It is a third successive defeat for Emery's side and risks shaking some of the solid foundations he has built over the last 24 months. Villa's performance during the Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace, while disappointing, could have been tolerable had they not turned up at Tottenham and been defeated once again.

Their first campaign in Europe in over 40 years comes with very low expectations and they have exceeded all expectations by even finishing at the top of the competition, but the worry for Emery will be the manner of their recent losing streak.

Emery: The mistake changed everything

Aston Villa Boss Unai Emery in conversation with TNT Sports:

“We played a very good first half. We created chances but didn't score any goals. We took a chance out of it. The game was more or less under our control. The mistake changed everything in the second half.”

“When they played against them, they were strong defensively and focused on executing their idea of ​​stopping us and playing in transition (where) they were better than us. But the key was the first half and the mistakes we made.”

In his press conference, Emery added: “His mistake is completely strange. It’s the biggest mistake I’ve made.”
I've seen it in my career.

“We can make a mistake in the build-up of the game. We try to control games by holding the ball and trying to stop possession and we did a fantastic job of that in the first half.”

“We lost one or two balls but were always able to recover, but this mistake is very, very strange.”

“It's not Mings or Martinez's fault, it's a strange mistake. This has only happened to me once in my entire life.”

History of the game in the statistics…

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