Back to the Aston Villa Newsfeed

'Farcical' end to Mings' Champions League debut

It was a Champions League debut to forget for defender Tyrone Mings.

The Aston Villa captain, returning from 14 months out with a knee injury, was being hailed pre-match for completing a journey from Chippenham Town to the Champions League.

He ended it making unwanted headlines after conceding one of the most bizarre penalties the competition will have ever seen.

Mings’ handball, when he was penalised for picking up Martinez's goal-kick in the box, gifted Brugge a penalty, a 1-0 win, and led to Villa’s first European defeat of the campaign.

BBC Sport’s Chris Sutton described it as a "brain freeze", former Leeds forward Lucy Ward said on TNT it was a "shambles" and "farcical", while ex-England striker Peter Crouch called it a "moment of madness".