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Alan Shearer says Aston Villa are a better team when 27-year-old plays
Aston Villa defender Pau Torres has made it into Alan Shearer’s latest Premier League Team of the Week.
The Villans ace made the cut after his “commanding” performance for Unai Emery’s side at the weekend.
Villa bounced back from their 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United on 11 February by running out 2-1 winners at Fulham last Saturday.
The Villans opened the scoring through Ollie Watkins in the 23rd minute as he slotted in from Jacob Ramsey’s delivery.
Watkins then doubled Villa’s advantage on 56 minutes when he fired home following Youri Tielemans’ through-ball.
Fulham did halve the deficit in the 63rd minute through Rodrigo Muniz, but the Villans held on for all three points.
Although Watkins stood out for his brace, Torres also impressed with a solid display at the back on his return from an ankle injury.
The Spaniard with six clearances and two tackles, and won four duels both on the ground and in the air.
Torres’ efforts saw him make the cut in Shearer’s Team of the Week alongside Villa teammate Watkins.
”Villa are a better team with him in it,” he wrote on the Premier League .
“And that was proved again with a commanding performance in the win at Fulham.”
Pau Torres ‘one of the best ever signings’ at Aston Villa
“Within the first minutes of the game you could see what a difference Torres’ return made,” wrote the .
“Villa were more composed and assured in possession today. 8 (out of 10).”
ESPN journalist Luis Miguel Echegaray also summed things up very well after the match on .
He wrote: “I was at Craven Cottage today and the impact Pau Torres has on the the starting XI is honestly unparalleled.
“Even under pressure, he provides a fluidity and continuity of rhythm. He is by far one of the best ever signings from AVFC.”
It’s great to see Torres back in action after some time on the side-lines, during which Villa haven’t done too well.
He is very much one of the most important players in the Villans’ squad and hopefully they’ll be able to build some consistency now as they look to finish the season on a high note. The top four is still very much up for grabs.