Aston Villa suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon. The Villans, who could have moved into the top four with a win in North London, suffered a calamitous 4-1 loss, and are now sixth in the Premier League with 18 points to their name, one point off the Champions League spots.
Surprisingly, despite domination from the home side in the first 45 minutes, it was Unai Emery’s men who took the lead. In-form Morgan Rogers got himself on the scoresheet, firing home a loose ball to give the Villans a lead at halftime.
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.
Despite the fact Villa’s number 14 is such a trusted player for Emery, someone he also coached at Villarreal, he may well decide to drop him ahead of their next game. The Midlands side faces Club Brugge in the Champions League later today, and after a poor performance, he could certainly be on the chopping block.
That pressure is increased more after one player’s excellent outing in the Carabao Cup last week, and he could prove to be a perfect replacement.
The Aston Villa star who could replace Torres
The player in question here is England international Tyrone Mings. It has been a long road to recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but in his first game back – which remains his only appearance of the season – the 31-year-old impressed against Crystal Palace in the cup.
Townley was certainly impressed with the defender’s efforts against the Eagles last week. He gave him an 8/10, explaining he ‘looked sharp’ and praising a ‘really promising performance’ on his return.
The “dominant” defender, as football statistician Statman Dave once described him, certainly had good stats on Sofascore. He won seven out of eight aerial duels and made five clearances, completing 57 of 71 attempted passes along the way.
Stat
Number
Touches
86
Pass accuracy
80%
Passes completed
57/71
Aerial duels won
7/8
Clearances
5
Blocks
4
Key passes
1
Mings is certainly a candidate to replace Torres in the starting lineup against the Belgian side. Not only is the Spaniard coming off the back of a poor performance, but the Englishman – who is still waiting to make his debut in Europe’s premier competition – must surely be feeling confident after a commanding showing following his long spell on the sidelines.
It certainly leaves the Villans boss with a selection headache ahead of a critical Champions League clash, but it might be hard to ignore Mings’ impressive form, especially after Torres’ disappointing effort last weekend.
As bad as Watkins: Emery must drop 4/10 Aston Villa star after Spurs
Aston Villa suffered an almighty collapse on the road against Tottenham Hotspur.
1 ByKelan SarsonNov 3, 2024
