Aston Villa continued their climb under Unai Emery today with an impressive victory over Tottenham Hotspur away from home, leaping over Ange Postecoglou's bandaged men into fourth place.
Ollie Watkins bagged the winning goal just after the hour mark to seal the 2-1 win, putting to bed any doubts about Villa's home form this season in the Premier League.
Watkins' goal was his seventh of the season in the league. Only Son Heung-Min, Jarred Bowen, Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland have found the net more times this term. The centre-forward was certainly Villa's hero on the day, as he so often is, but there was one player who also deserves plaudits for what was an incredibly impressive performance for the Villans.
Aston Villa's game in numbers
Tottenham headed into this game quite fragile, having suffered back-to-back defeats against Chelsea and Wolves amidst a worrying injury crisis for Ange. Having been title challengers early into the campaign, the Lilywhites now sit outside the top four.
Villa certainly didn't show any mercy to a team that is down to the bare bones and picked up their first away victory in the Premier League since September.
The balance of play went how many would have expected. Spurs dominated the ball, maintaining 62% of the share of possession, and peppered 17 shots at Emiliano Martinez's goal which accumulated an xG of 2.19.
On the flip side, the visitors sat back for a lot of the match and soaked up pressure from the hosts but still managed to have 14 chances. These opportunities had a combined xG of 1.76, showing that Villa were more potent up top than their counterparts, according to FotMob.
Nevertheless, Villa's defence was incredibly resilient during the game, boasting 12 interceptions, two blocks and 12 clearances, while goalkeeper Martinez had twice as many saves to make in comparison to Spurs' Guglielmo Vicario. However, there was one player at the back who acted like a rock for the Lions and even chipped in with a goal for his troubles.
Pau Torres' stats vs Spurs
Pau Torres moved to Aston Villa during the summer for an initial £33m fee, becoming the second-most expensive player in Aston Villa's history.
The goalkeeper who left Aston Villa who's now outperforming Emi Martinez
This ex-Aston Villa number 1 has conceded fewer goals than Yashin Trophy winner Emiliano Martinez this season.
ByAdam ScullyNov 25, 2023
The transfer was a risk, but the Spain international had played under Emery at Villarreal, winning the Europa League together in 2021, and so knew the coach inside and out. What a signing he has been thus far.
The Spaniard was exceptional this afternoon as Villa climbed into the top four. The centre-back earned a Sofascore rating of 8.1 which was only bested on the pitch by Spurs' Pedro Porro. Torres scored Villa's first goal by latching onto a tremendous cross from Douglas Luiz to cancel out Lo Celso's opener for the home side.
Not only did Torres level the game for Emery's side but he also cleared a sure goal off the line and won 88% of his total defensive duels and 100% of his aerial battles against one of the most potent forward lines in England's top-tier right now.
Additionally, Torres completed three passes into the final third and 100% of his dribbles, while making five ball recoveries on his way to earning an 8/10 match rating courtesy of Birmingham Live. Statman Dave even called the 26-year-old "brilliant" for his display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Aston Villa have had a meteoric rise under Emery but look to be on a different level this season. The form of Watkins certainly helps but the addition of Torres to replace Mings during the summer was a masterstroke by the manager and Monchi and his performance against Spurs showcased this once more.