Mings criticizes Villa display as ‘not good enough’ after poor defeat in Monaco

Tyrone Mings criticized Aston Villa’s display as “not good enough” after their disappointing 1-0 defeat at Monaco.

The Villans missed the chance to secure a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League after suffering only their second defeat of the campaign through Wilfried Sing’s early header.

Villa lost inspiration as they struggled to get into the game after that early setback and it proved not to be enough as they lost ground to their top eight rivals.

Speaking to TNT Sports, defender Mings said: “There are no excuses. I gave a bad ball and took it to the corner, I didn’t defend the corner well. We couldn’t get back into the game and we couldn’t take the chances we had. Those are the fine lines of football.

“We just weren’t good enough.

“For sure we will use the positives that came out of the game, but we have to be better. We have to try to stay balanced and be the same if we win when we lose. We need a consistent mood and attitude.

“It was not a good night, there is not a person here who feels good about it – the fans have come a long way. We will go again.

“We were on the wrong side of them in big moments.”

“Football is a very simple game and we weren’t good enough.”

An honest assessment of Aston Villa’s performance in Monaco from Tyrone Mings.

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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 21, 2025

Emery: ‘Bringing Duran was a mistake’

Manager Unai Emery was more positive about his side’s performance but admitted they failed to match their previous performances in the competition, which included wins over Young Boys, Bayern Munich, Bologna and RB Leipzig.

The Spanish coach said: “I think we played 70 minutes as I wanted. The opponent of course also has a game plan. They were good in transition.

“We created three or four good scoring opportunities. Of course, if we want to be at this level, we have to take advantage of the chances we had. But despite that, I was more or less positive.”

Emery made the rare move of bringing on Jhon Duran alongside fellow striker Ollie Watkins in the second half as Villa chased the game and admitted they lost their footing in the game from that point on.

He added: “The last 20-25 minutes we played with two strikers and we didn’t threaten like we did in the first 70 minutes.

“For the last 20 minutes we played with two strikers and with two strikers we were not organized with the positioning I want.

“We have two good strikers. Playing with two strikers is my challenge. Both are very good players, but it didn’t work out well today.

“I made a mistake when I decided to play with two strikers. Until that moment, we more or less controlled the game.”

One positive from the night in Monte Carlo was the play of Emiliano Buendia, who was arguably Villa’s best source of attacking threat after creating good opportunities for Watkins, Leon Bailey and Morgan Rogers.

About the Argentine, who returned this season after a long-term injury, he added: “Today I was especially happy with Emi Buendia. He has the option to leave, but we needed him. We played fantastically with his qualities, his mentality and his commitment to this team.