How Unai Emery reacted to bizarre Tyrone Mings moment that led to Aston Villa defeat

Unai Emery admits Tyrone Mings' bizarre handball in Aston Villa's 1-0 defeat to Club Brugge was the "biggest mistake" one of his teams have made in his career.

The centre-back, who was enjoying a strong performance in what was his Champions League debut, picked the ball up inside the penalty box after Emi Martinez took a goal kick in the 50th minute.

But Mings was unaware that the ball was already in play, presumably not realising that his goalkeeper had taken the kick. Brugge skipper Hans Vanaken then converted the resulting penalty, which was the only goal of the game in a disappointing night for Villa.

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"It is very strange this mistake, but it is football," Emery said in his post-match press conference. "It’s the biggest mistake [one of my teams have made] in my career as coach.

"We can make a mistake in the build up, but we work to try and control the games through possession. We did the first half fantastic.

"We lost one or two balls, but this mistake is very, very strange. It’s not for Tyrone Mings or Emi Martinez [to explain]. It’s only happened one time in all my life. Today."

Asked if he had spoken to Mings about it, he said: "We have to forget quickly. This mistake is not going to repeat again, I think never in my life."

Villa came into the match after winning all three of their previous Champions League matches. They will host Juventus in three weeks' time, before facing RB Leipzig and AS Monaco away from home. They end their league phase campaign against Celtic at Villa Park at the end of January.

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