Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa believes the team can recover after their first UEFA Champions League loss, a narrow 1-0 defeat to Club Brugge. The match was decided by a penalty scored by Hans Vanaken following an unusual incident where Tyrone Mings handled the ball in his own box, mistakenly believing play had yet to resume from a goal-kick.
This defeat marks Villa's fourth game without a win. The team has secured just one Premier League point from a possible six, alongside a Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace. However, Konsa expressed confidence in his teammates' ability to bounce back. "It's part of football," he told TNT Sports. "You win some, you lose some. Unfortunately, tonight wasn't our night. It was our first loss in the Champions League. We have to move on from it quickly. We've got another game on Saturday. We can't be too down on it.
We'll have to move on from this and focus. " On the penalty decision, Konsa admitted he missed the incident but raised questions about the officiating. He noted that if the offence had been intentional, Mings should have received a second yellow card, leading to his dismissal. "I just saw the players running to the ref and saying [it was a] handball," he added. "It was one of those ones. It kills the game. It's 0-0. If it is deliberate, he needs to get a second yellow.
He's on a yellow already, so why not send him off for that? It's a mistake, but it's not a mistake that we want to make. " Aston Villa will aim to turn their fortunes around with a crucial clash against league leaders Liverpool on Saturday, a significant test for their aspirations of a top-four finish this season, according to DAZN.