Unai Emery has criticised Pau Torres (Photos by Julian Finney, Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has made it clear that he thinks Pau Torres needs to be stronger with some of his defending sometimes, even though he generally praised the way the Spain international responded to his setback in yesterday’s game against Fulham.
Villa went 1-0 down early on at Craven Cottage, but came back to take all three points in a 3-1 victory, and it seems Emery wasn’t entirely happy with the start Torres made as Raul Jimenez got the better of him to score the opener.
Torres has mostly been a top performer for Villa since he joined the club, having also previously looked like a top player during his time in La Liga with former club Villarreal.
Emery has done great work to get the best out of this Villa side, and it’s clear he sets high standards, as he praised Torres after the game but still made it clear he needs to do better as well.
Pau Torres needs to be stronger, says Unai Emery
“Pau Torres needs to be stronger in his duels with his opponent. But he knows. We are working on it and he reacted fantastic after the goal,” Emery said after the game, as quoted by journalist Jacob Tanswell.
Unai Emery: “Pau Torres needs to be stronger in his duels with his opponent. But he knows. We are working on it and he reacted fantastic after the goal.” #AVFC
— Jacob Tanswell (@J_Tanswell) October 19, 2024
Villa fans will hope Emery hasn’t been overly critical here as it wouldn’t be good to damage morale, but Torres is a professional and should be able to take this constructive criticism on the chin.
Villa are back in Champions League action next, with Emery’s side set to take on Bologna on Tuesday night.
Emery has a great record in European competition, though that’s mostly been in the Europa League – a competition he’s won with Sevilla and Villarreal, though going far in this tournament with Villa would be a whole other level of achievement.
