BBC Sport pundit wowed by ‘sensational’ moment in Aston Villa v Club Brugge
Aston Villa go in level at the break against Club Brugge in the Champions League despite taking the lead early on.
The Villans went into the clash against the Pro League outfit on 4 March as favourites to take an aggregate advantage back to Villa Park with them.
It is safe to say that the clash started in perfect circumstances for Unai Emery before Maxim De Cuyper scored the equaliser with just 12 minutes gone.
Despite this, it is safe to say one moment caught the eye at Jan Breydelstadion which left one pundit stunned.
Leon Bailey blows Pat Nevin away v Club Brugge
Emery will be keen to have the best possible start against Brugge to avoid another potential banana skin in the Champions League.
After Tyrone Mings’ bizarre error last time out, everyone associated with the claret and blue outfit will have been keen to see a positive result.
It is fair to say that the Spanish head coach got his wish when Bailey smashed home the opener with less than three minutes on the clock.
The Jamaica latched onto a Mings header to curl in just his second goal of the season in excellent fashion.
This left former Chelsea winger Nevin wowed live on BBC Radio Five Live (4 March, 5:49pm) as he said: “The ball was played to the back post and Tyrone Mings nods it back and the defenders were stationary.
“The control from Leon Bailey is sensational and it was a lovely little side foot finish. Dream start for Villa.”
Bailey struggles besides Aston Villa goal v Club Brugge
It is safe to say that Villa aren’t as positive away from home as they are at Villa Park.
This proved to be the case for various spells away to Brugge despite taking the lead so early through Bailey’s excellent effort.
Despite the excellence of this strike, it proved to be one of the former Bayer Leverkusen man’s only positive moments of the half.
The 27-year-old completed just 10 passes while having just 19 touches [FotMob], highlighting just how limited of an impact he was able to have.
| Stat | Leon Bailey first half v Club Brugge |
| Touches | 19 |
| Passes | 10 |
| Shots | 1 |
| Dribbled past | 1 |
This is summed up by his crossing as Bailey managed to complete zero per cent of his attempts while creating just one chance.
It isn’t as if the winger has contributed defensively either, often leaving Axel Disasi alone and struggling. This saw him win just two duels while also failing to win a tackle while bring dribbled past once.
The wideman certainly has to improve in the second half or risk facing the axe from Emery.