Unai Emery offers Pau Torres some constructive criticism

Aston Villa star center back Pau Torres has been an unsurprising success at Villa Park since joining forces at the club with Unai Emery in 2023. Torres and Emery worked wonderfully together with Villarreal in La Liga, winning the Europa League over Manchester United in 2021.

Torres has transitioned well to life in the Premier League, as the graceful giant has been one of Aston Villa’s most consistent performers. He is world-class with the ball at his feet, passing and playmaking from deep just as he did in La Liga for several years.

But everyone can improve in some aspects, and in Torres’ case, he’s earning a reputation for being a bit too passive in one-on-ones, especially compared to his peers in the Premier League.

Following a big 3-1 win over Fulham, Emery offered some constructive criticism for Torres, which the Spanish international will no doubt put to good use as motivation to improve:

“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.”

That’s one of the big things managers look for in a player – how they react after a mistake. Torres has always been a mature leader for his teams, even when he was a young central defender at Villarreal.

Torres takes criticism well and does not drop his head after making a mistake. Aston Villa went on to win 3-1, so the fifth-minute opener from Fulham is nothing but a footnote in the history of the match.

The 27-year-old, overall, is having another solid season with Aston Villa, particularly in the Champions League. Like Emery, Torres is at hist best in European cups, and he is averaging two tackles per game without a single dribbled allowed in his first two Champions League matches with Villa.