ASTON VILLA – Time to Unleash a star for UCL! Emery must now ditch Torres and unleash “dominant” Aston Villa star

ASTON VILLA – Time to Unleash a star for UCL! Emery must now ditch Torres and unleash “dominant” Aston Villa star

Aston Villa lost at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon. The Villans, who might have moved into the top four with a win in North London, suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat and are now sixth in the Premier League with 18 points, one point behind the Champions League berths.

Surprisingly, despite dominance by the home side in the first 45 minutes, Unai Emery’s team took the lead. Morgan Rogers, who is in good form, scored on a loose ball to give the Villans a halftime lead.

Ange Postecoglou’s side bounced back almost immediately into the second period. Wales international Brennan Johnson, who has been in sparkling form of late, scored again, getting on the end of a teasing cross from captain Son Heung-min.

Spurs’ second and third both came from summer signing Dominic Solanke. The England international scored his first with a cute chip over Emiliano Martinez after a smart run in behind the Spurs defence, and his second from six yards out, tapping it into an open net. James Maddison added a fourth late on for the Lilywhites.

It was a devastating collapse from the Villans who had the lead despite a lack of control of the game. There were several frustrating performers, including Pau Torres, who struggled at the heart of defence.

Pau Torres’ stats vs. Spurs

It was a bad day at the office for Spanish defender Torres against the Lilywhites on Sunday afternoon. Normally so calm and composed, he made a critical error on the ball and struggled defensively against Solanke.

Indeed, he received a rating of just 4/10 from John Townley, Villa correspondent for Birmingham Mail. The journalist explained that Torres had a ‘difficult afternoon’, noting he ‘gave possession away when trying to play out from the back’, an action that led to Spurs’ third goal of the day.

His stats on Sofascore show just how tough of an afternoon it was for the 27-year-old. He made one error that led to a shot, and one error that led to a goal. Normally so safe in possession, Torres lost the ball ten times and had a pass accuracy of just 82%. It was certainly not the best performance.