Pau Torres was one of Unai Emery's first signings when he joined Aston Villa in 2022. It was an easy decision because he fully understands the tactical idea Emery wants his side to adopt. Since then, Torres has become an integral piece to the Villa setup in possession. Being able to play out of the back, whilst under pressure, is a key trait and Torres has that in abundance. When he partners with Ezri Konsa, Villa always look far more comfortable with the ball, trying to break the opposition's press and pass into midfield.
The slow, methodical build-up is the Emery way. Torres knows when to pick the right moment to play a precise pass between the lines or carry the ball up the pitch. The three components to his game that are crucial to Villa's style are his positioning in possession, progressive passing and overall defensive work.
Positioning In Possession
When Villa have a goal kick, the centre-backs are crucial to the build-up. Depending on the opposition, they may begin quite narrow in the box or push wide to create space for the two holding midfielders to drop into. Either way, most of the time the ball is played to one of them.
As Villa move up the pitch, Torres is often the centre-back that pushes up the highest. This enables an extra man in midfield to be free, due to an opposition player being dragged out of position to press him.
This image shows how high Torres sits, when Villa have the ball. He pushes into the space left behind Digne at left-back, who is instructed to play as high and wide as he can. In this scenario, Torres doesn't dribble forward so plays the ball to Kamara, who drops deeper.
Burnley have a narrow forward line, meaning that Torres pulls wider to create space in the midfield for Rogers to utilise. How the opposition press will dictate whether Torres decides to carry the ball or play a pass between the lines. A higher pressing team will cause him to pass more frequently, to expose the gaps left behind the press, whereas a reserved pressing team will mean he stays on the ball for longer.
These heatmaps show his positioning last season and this season. What is noticeably clear is that he spends a lot of time just inside the opposition's half, the further he gets forward, the wider he pulls out.
Torres is one of the best at carrying the ball up the pitch, in fact in the Premier League this season, he is second among centre-backs in progressive distance carried per 90, with 120 metres, also the highest of any player in the Villa squad. Additionally, he averages 10.69 progressive carries per 90, which is the third most among centre-backs in the league and the most of any Villa player.
The image below showcases his ability to carry the ball forward. Torres sees that there is space to run into and as the Tottenham midfielders are narrow, an overload will be created on the left if he continues towards goal.
As he pushes up, Digne makes a run down the line, whilst staying wide. McGinn now comes into play, as he is staying on the shoulder of Pedro Porro, causing him to stay on the Scotsman rather than cover the run of Digne.
Torres continues to dribble and now drags the highlighted players of Paulinha and Porro out of position. This allows space for McGinn to run into, but also Digne is still free for Torres to play the pass.
This is just one example of how intelligent Torres is at choosing the right time to drive forward when he sees open space and then release the ball once the opposition get dragged out.
Progressive Powerhouse
Another strength of his is progressive passing and it is something Villa rely on quite heavily, especially when the opposition play in a low block. The diagram below shows where he has carried the ball to and the progressive passes he made last season.
What stands out is the majority of longer balls, either over the top or crossfield. Playing between the lines is crucial if you want to break teams down and the positions Torres gets himself in, enables this to happen.
The left-hand channel is where he occupies and you can see again how wide he goes, almost playing where a traditional left-back would be.
Low blocks against Villa have caused them issues trying to play the ball into the 10s, so Torres' ability to cut through compact defences with precision helps Villa.
In this situation, we see Torres deciding to play the ball over the top to Digne. The left-back is effectively a winger when Villa have the ball.
A more regular occurrence of play, is when Torres looks for Watkins, often straight to his feet, but in the image below we see him play through Burnley's defensive line for Watkins' run.
The role of Digne is significant here, because he drags the full-back wide, creating the space for Watkins to run into. Torres then plays the ball through and Villa have then broken the line.
When it comes to progressive stats, Torres is usually high up on lists. The metrics below are his progressive passes per match this season.
Apart from his final third success rate, Torres is in very high percentiles in the other statistics. The through passes is the highest, and it indicates that he plays a high number of passes per 90 between the lines. It's something many Villa supporters know him for.
Villa are fifth in the Premier League for average possession, but have only scored nine goals. The majority of matches will see Torres and Konsa top the most passes and most touches stats, due to Emery's style of slow build-up play and waiting for the right moment. Torres' strengths with the ball at his feet improve Villa so much in possession and most moves that end in shots or goals, start with him or Konsa.
Defensive Work
In the past, Torres' defensive ability has been questioned, however, he deserves a lot more respect than he gets. In previous seasons, Villa have opted for a much higher line than they currently do, but a big part of their style is catching opponents offside. Torres is very good in this aspect and was part of the back line that in the 23/24 season, were leading the way in opponents caught offside by a considerable margin.
In this Premier League campaign so far, Villa have caught opponents 32 times, 12 more than second place, which is Manchester City. Knowing when to step up and ensure you are in line with your teammates is a difficult task, especially when an opposition are running at you. The defence of Cash, Konsa, Torres and Digne are often exceptional at staying in sync with each other. When there is a replacement for one of them, you notice a difference in how structured they are.
Another part of his defensive game that isn't credited enough, is his defensive duels won. This season, Torres is joint third in his defensive duels win percentage, in the top five leagues in Europe.
🇪🇺 Top 5 League Centre-backs: Defensive duels won %
— DataMB (@DataMB_) October 30, 2025
🥇 D. Upamecano (Bayern München, 27) — 89.29
🥈 Cristhian Mosquera (Arsenal, 21) — 88.46
🥉 A. Abqar (Getafe, 26) — 88.24
🥉 Pau Torres (Aston Villa, 28) — 88.24
🏅 J. Gvardiol (Man City, 23) — 87.5
📊 https://t.co/McR5zrPkTO pic.twitter.com/0JMOCxlEwa
For somebody who isn't necessarily known for his defensive ability, this stat is quite surprising.
Overall, Pau Torres is an exceptional player that is a critical cog in Emery's tactical setup and it's no surprise that Emery signed him for Villa. Since his arrival, he has slotted in so seamlessly into the Villa side, becoming one of the best players in the squad.
