Aston Villa lost their third game in a row on Wednesday evening, falling to defeat against Belgian side Club Brugge in the Champions League. Up until the loss at the Jan Breydel Stadium, Unai Emery’s side had a perfect record in the competition, including a famous 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.
It was the Belgian outfit who ultimately ended their winning run on the continent, and it was arguably a deserved victory, too. As per Sofascore, Brugge managed more shots, 13 to Villa’s eight, and created a better expected goals tally, with 1.38xG compared to just 0.42 for the Villans.
The game-winning moment was one of great controversy. Tyrone Mings made a critical error when he picked up the ball from Emi Martinez’s goal kick, presumably not realising the Argentine had taken it already. Brugge were awarded a penalty and captain Hans Vanaken fired past Martinez to win his side the game.
It was a disappointing evening for the Villans after such a fast start in the Champions League on their return to the competition, and there were some frustrating performances throughout from their side.
Villa’s worst performers vs. Brugge
On a poor night for his side, Tyrone Mings was one player who struggled in Belgium. Of course, he gave away the penalty, a surprising mistake that is not a common thing to see. The England international struggled outside of that, too. Normally so strong in duels, he was disappointing in those contests and struggled to impart himself on the game.
Indeed, his stats from the night reflect just how much of a poor performance it was from the Villa number five. Aside from the penalty he conceded, Mings won just one from three ground duels and did not win an aerial duel from either of the two he contested. He also gave away four fouls.
The Villa defender was not the only player who struggled in Belgium, however. Morgan Rogers also had a tough day at the office. The Manchester City academy man has been a key player for Emery this term, but he had little impact against Brugge.
He received a post-match rating of just 4/10 from GOAL journalist Harry Sherlock. He explained that the attacker ‘couldn’t get himself into the game’ at the Jan Breydel Stadium, describing it as a ‘bitterly disappointing evening’.
Although the likes of Mings and Rogers had a bad evening, there was someone who was arguably worse than both of them. That player is Leon Bailey.
Leon Bailey’s stats vs. Brugge
The Jamaican winger has sadly not had the same impact this season as he managed last term. After 28 goals and assists in 51 games in 2023/24, he has just three assists in 12 games so far this time around and is yet to find the back of the net.
Against Brugge on Europe’s biggest stage, it was very much a similar story. The winger had little impact on the overall game, and could not really get involved enough to swing momentum Villa’s way. Even when he did have the ball, the 27-year-old was sloppy in possession.
His stats from the game certainly back this theory up. He had 42 touches, fewer even than Martinez, and completed 26 of 31 of his passes, losing the ball 11 times. The Villa winger won just one duel and failed to complete any of his five crosses. It was a poor performance.
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Bailey stats vs. Brugge |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Number |
|
Touches |
42 |
|
Pass accuracy |
82% |
|
Passes completed |
26/31 |
|
Number of times possession lost |
11 |
|
Ground duels won |
1/2 |
|
Crosses completed |
0/5 |
|
Stats from Sofascore |
|
Sherlock also gave him a 4/10 rating for his efforts in Belgium. He described Bailey’s performance as ‘peripheral’, explaining that the overall quality of his crosses ‘simply weren’t good enough’.
It was an underwhelming performance from the Jamaican winger, and it leaves Emery with a decision to make. He could well drop the winger from the team ahead of a huge clash against Liverpool at Anfield.
It is a game where the Spaniard will need his most in-form players on the pitch, and sadly with Bailey’s form in recent weeks, he may not make the cut.
With the likes of Jaden Philogene and Jacob Ramsey knocking on the door for a starting spot, Bailey might well be dropped in one of the most crucial games for Villa so far this season.
Related
Fewer touches than Martinez: 4/10 Aston Villa star was just as bad as Mings
Aston Villa endured a terrible night in Belgium playing Club Brugge.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
