Martin Keown slams Aston Villa player for ‘awful’ incident vs Red Bull Salzburg
Aston Villa ended the Europa League’s league phase on a high as they came from behind to beat Red Bull Salzburg 3-2.
While Unai Emery’s side had already guaranteed themselves a top-eight finish before the game, they ensured they continued their good form at Villa Park.
Despite being 2-0 down just after half-time, goals from Morgan Rogers, Tyrone Mings and Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba gave the Birmingham outfit a second-place finish in the league stage.
Many Villa players continued their fine form from their win over Newcastle on the weekend. However, many still had shaky moments.
One of the worst culprits was Mings, who made a shocking mistake in the first half, which allowed Salzburg to take the lead.
Martin Keown: Tyrone Mings made an awful mistake vs Red Bull Salzburg
Mings has struggled with injuries at Aston Villa, but recently made a comeback to the first team.
As a result, Emery has been using the Europa League to get the centre-back match sharp after missing a lengthy period from the start of October.
In the first half, his lack of awareness was on show as he gave the ball away, which allowed the visitors to open the scoring through Karim Konate.
COMEBACK COMPLETE 🤩 #UEL pic.twitter.com/g8UNBPadHH
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 29, 2026
Watching the game on TNT Sports, Martin Keown was appalled by the mistake by Mings.
He said: “That is an awful mistake to make. It’s good pressing and Tyrone Mings gets caught in two minds.
“In a flash it’s in the back of the net.”
What did Unai Emery say after Aston Villa’s win vs Red Bull Salzburg?
Obviously, Emery was thrilled that Villa continued their fantastic form on Thursday.
While the game was basically meaningless for the Birmingham outfit, a defeat could have disrupted their momentum ahead of a busy period.
However, they showed class and resilience to ensure they picked up yet another victory despite the odds being stacked against them at the start of the second half.
One of the major positives was how some of the youngsters performed, with Jimoh-Aloba netting the winner at Villa Park.
It was the 19-year-old’s first senior goal, after previously making his Aston Villa debut in the 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at the end of December.
Our match-winner 🤩
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 30, 2026
Your #UEL POTM: Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba! 🙌@adidas || #UpTheVilla pic.twitter.com/0XhVXQoxij
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Emery was quick to praise the contribution the youngsters made in their win over the Austrian side.
He said: “Very happy and of course today was a match playing with some potential players we have as a young players in the academy developing with them.
“And today they had an opportunity to play, George then Jamal [Jimoh-Aloba] and Kadan [Young]. Of course, Jamal scored a goal, really fantastic.
“We were expecting a difficult match because they needed to win. They are brave playing forward. Trying to get in individuals duels with us.
“In Europe, with the experiences we have, we know how difficult each match is. Today, playing 90 minutes, creating this energy with our supporters is something we can feel as a competition where we can be protagonists and get something.”