Aston Villa boss Unai Emery left absolutely gobsmacked by costly Tyrone Mings handball against Club Brugge as he labels error 'worst mistake he has ever witnessed'

In one of the wildest penalty decisions of the season, Mings conceded a spot-kick in alarming circumstances against Club Brugge. Emiliano Martinez played a short pass to him in the penalty area and the centre-back inexplicably picked the ball up. The referee immediately blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot, and Hans Vanaken stepped up to score from 12 yards. Emery has since been unable to contain his disbelief at the incident.

Villa failed to mount a comeback in Belgium, meaning they were condemned to their first defeat of the Champions League campaign. Mings was making his European debut during the game but was substituted shortly after his mistake, as Pau Torrs replaced him.

Emery said post-match: “His mistake is completely strange. It’s the biggest mistake I witnessed in my career. We can make a mistake in the build up, we work to try and control the games through keeping possession and trying to stop the possession and we did that in the first half fantastic.

“We lost one or two balls, but we were always in the position to recover, but this mistake is very, very strange. It’s not for Mings or Martinez, it’s one mistake that’s strange. It’s only happened one time in all my life.”

Villa play Liverpool in an intriguing clash this weekend before the international break. Once they return, they face Crystal Palace before a glittering Champions League fixture against Juventus.