Losing an influential figure to injury is never easy to deal with, and Aston Villa boss Unai Emery had that particular headache last week following the setback sustained by Tyrone Mings.
The 30-year-old has improved significantly under the Spaniard since he arrived last November, and our dire record without him having won just one of 12 league games in his absence since 2019, and conceding 24 goals in those outings, raised concern over how we would adjust without him for most, if not all, of this season.
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Given the versatility and flexibility in our defensive unit, Emery had options. Ezri Konsa could have played at right-back, Diego Carlos was an option to start and that could have shifted things around him.
Instead, it was simply a straight swap with Pau Torres coming in for Mings, and the Spaniard showed just how influential he could be for us moving forward.
Importantly, we should also highlight that there is still room for improvement and perhaps lapses in concentration that need to be fixed. Torres was caught out by former Villarreal teammate Arnaut Danjuma in the second half, with Emi Martinez coming to our rescue.
Nevertheless, for the most part across the 90 minutes, the 26-year-old was excellent, as he brought his technical quality, experience, pedigree and organisational skills to the Villa XI and started the process of forming what we hope will be a solid partnership with Konsa in the heart of the backline.
Torres ended the game with three clearances, was dribbled past just once, won two of two aerial duels, had 82 touches, 90 percent passing accuracy and was an overall composed and calming influence in our build-up play.
Further, after our high-line approach was badly exposed in the latter stages against Newcastle Utd last weekend, we produced a disciplined and organised defensive performance to keep an important clean sheet and set the standard for our upcoming encounters.
Combined with his constant directing from the back with the ball at his feet, we looked assured and composed in our approach to invite Everton’s pressure higher up the pitch and play out with a patient and measured mentality. Emery has emphasised the importance of controlling possession and space throughout his time in charge thus far, and Torres does that effortlessly.
As we can see from both his heat-map and the images above, the Spaniard will have space and time on the ball given how we manipulate space and the opposition with our full-backs stretching the pitch and midfielders dropping back.
Emery was clear in why he wanted him, and it’s an integral piece added to a puzzle of how we want to play and maintain control over tempo and possession for as long as possible in games.
With his ability to shift across either to a left-back role or on the left of a back three when we’re in possession, he also adds an ideal balance in defence alongside Konsa, while Diego Carlos showed he can slot in alongside the pair too which could be an important solution that Emery utilises at times.
Torres though will undoubtedly face more testing assignments this year, as in truth, Everton were poor. That said, he showed enough in his full Premier League debut to suggest that he is adapting, and will be a key influence for Emery in not only maintaining high defensive standards, but also implementing the style of football that he wants to produce week in and week out with his ability in possession.
🔢 @EzriKonsa and @PauTTorres v Everton:
100% aerial duels won
92% pass accuracy
6 clearances
1 clean sheetDuo. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/RNdBBPI2si
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 21, 2023