Last November, during a Champions League group stage match, a bizarre error by Tyrone Mings led to a penalty for Club Brugge, prompting Aston Villa manager Unai Emery to call it "the biggest mistake I've ever seen in my career."
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03-06, 2025In a night of redemption for the England defender, Mings returned to the "scene of the crime" to help Villa take a giant step towards the quarter-finals of Europe's most prestigious club competition. Villa secured an impressive 3-1 victory over Club Brugge in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Belgium.
"I'm really happy to be back here and play in this stadium again because I think we had unfinished business," Mings said after the game. "I'm really proud of what we did tonight. I really enjoyed the game. We played them [in the league stage] and had an idea of what was coming." He added, "The game went exactly as we expected. We can be proud of our defending and our attacking."
Can Villa finish the job in Birmingham on March 12 and book an eight-final showdown with either Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain? What is certain is that Mings appears to have regained his form, putting the events of four months ago firmly behind him.
Recalling the match in November, Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez kicked the ball out of the six-yard area, and Mings, mistakenly believing the goal kick had not been taken, picked up the ball. German referee Tobias Stieler awarded a penalty for handball, which Club Brugge captain Hans Vanaken converted to score the only goal of the match. It was a terrible moment for Mings, who was substituted shortly after in his European debut and only his second game after a 14-month absence due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Emery added after that game: "His mistake was completely strange. It has only happened to me once in my life."
On Tuesday, Mings provided the assist for Leon Bailey to open the scoring in the third minute. At 1-1, Brugge captain Vanaken headed towards goal, and Mings made a timely touch to deflect it wide. Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin said on BBC Radio 5 Live: "Tyrone Mings was unbelievable there. He stopped the ball going inside the post, and that definitely prevented a goal."
Mings completed seven clearances, more than anyone else, as Villa recorded their sixth Champions League victory in nine games this season, sending the 1,500 travelling fans into raptures at the final whistle. Asked about Mings' performance, Emery said: "His first experience here was not good. But today his reaction was fantastic, playing focused, serious, saving a clear goal. Of course, I know the difficulty in football, and how we can get experience, and how we can get better, and analyse deeply everything and try to correct it – that is my only objective with the players. We corrected some problems we had playing here."
Villa are in the knockout stages of Europe's premier club competition for the first time since the 1982-83 season quarter-finals, and Emery's side are certainly making up for lost time. Club Brugge, who wasted at least two good chances, will feel they shouldn't have lost 1-3, but Villa have given themselves an excellent opportunity to reach the last eight.
However, Emery is not getting carried away. The Spaniard was quick to point out: "We are not in the quarter-final yet. There are 90 minutes to play. We have to be ready to face extra time and penalties as well because I know how difficult every match is. I think the players have had similar matches before, and we have to always respect the opponent. They beat Atalanta 3-1 [in the knockout play-off round] and played very well. We need to watch the match again with the players to understand the difficulties we can face in Europe against teams. I am happy, but be calm, be balanced."
