Tyrone Mings playing for Aston Villa looking towards a circle inset of Unai Emery looking annoyed
Credit: Imago
Max Wilkins
Sun 22 February 2026 13:27, UK
Tyrone Mings didn’t have the desired impact for Aston Villa against Leeds United on Saturday.
I wrote on Wednesday that the Englishman had to start against Daniel Farke’s men due to his physical presence.
Facing the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha, it felt logical to have a six-foot-five centre-back there at Villa Park.
It turned out that an Anton Stach free kick from miles out was enough to get past Emi Martinez, with the Leeds strikers failing to make much impact in dangerous areas.
There should be alarm bells ringing surrounding Mings at Bodymoor Heath, and there are questions from supporters as to why he remained on the pitch for so long.
Tyrone Mings didn’t do his only job vs Leeds United
There has always been a question of Pau Torres, his physical attributes and how he deals with strikers who can get the better of him in the air.
That is the exact reason that Mings was given the nod against Leeds, but it really didn’t work out how Unai Emery would have wanted.
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The Spaniard has also backed the 32-year-old in clashes against Brighton and Bournemouth, neither of which saw him truly excel.
That may have resulted in a surprise when he was named in the starting XI against the Whites, but when facing Calvert-Lewin, it did make sense.
The issue is that he failed to win a single ground duel on the day and lost four of his six aerial duels, with a 33 per cent win rate, which is obviously far from good enough.
Mings also committed two fouls while failing to make a tackle, summing up his shoddy performance against the Elland Road club.
Why Pau Torres has to start for Aston Villa
When Youri Tielemans is missing, Villa don’t have a midfielder who can truly break the lines and make passes to cause problems for the opposition.
That is something that Torres can certainly provide from the backline, but for whatever reason, he wasn’t given the chance against Leeds.
Mings made just six passes into the final third, representing just 10 per cent of his total passes on the day.
Stat vs Leeds United Tyrone Mings
Minutes played 90
Accurate passes 59
Passes into final third 6
Tackles 0
Duels won 2
Tyrone Mings stats vs Leeds United
That leaves the forward line with fewer opportunities, and it ultimately left Ollie Watkins chasing shadows and looking for scraps.
Torres could make a big difference in claret and blue, so he should return and bring this Mings experiment to an end.
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