There was hardly a murmur as Emiliano Martínez took a routine goalkick five minutes into the second half and then, a few seconds later, huge cheers from those decked out in Club Brugge blue and black as the ramifications of Tyrone Mings’s brain freeze suddenly dawned on them. The defender mistakenly assumed Martínez had not restarted play and so scooped the ball up, placed it on the edge of the six-yard box and proceeded to pass the ball to his goalkeeper.
Only the German referee, Tobias Stieler, and most of this stadium, were convinced the ball was in play and penalised Mings, who had been booked in the first half, by awarding a penalty but stopped short of reaching for a second yellow card. Hans Vanaken sent the subsequent spot-kick down the middle and the 19-time Belgian champions had the lead, albeit in peculiar circumstances.
Two years to the day since Emery’s first game in charge of Villa, a 3-1 win over Manchester United, it is worth remembering how far they have come, though given the disgusted look on his face as Vanaken rippled Martínez’s net, Villa’s manager probably won’t see it that way. On the night, Emery’s side were unpicked by Nicky Hayen, the Brugge manager who two years ago was in charge of Cymru Premier League side Haverfordwest County.
It would be wrong to suggest Brugge only prospered, abruptly ending Villa’s 100% record in the Champions League, because of that decision. The hosts had been the better team, more dynamic, more dangerous. Ollie Watkins sent a first-half shot narrowly wide and John McGinn fluffed an awkward header but they struggled to penetrate Brugge, for whom the centre-back Joel Ordonez enjoyed a fine game. The Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara pulled a shot wide with four minutes of normal time remaining on the clock.
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