Aston Villa got themselves back to winning ways against Fulham on Saturday to hop back into the top four, causing one BBC pundit to rave over Clement Lenglet and Pau Torres.
Unai Emery saw his Aston Villa side put the lows of last week behind them by securing a vital three points against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
It was set to be a challenge at Craven Cottage after learning of another two injuries to the squad, seeing Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos step away from contention to weaken the XI once more.
Villa took the double blow in their stride to win 2-1 against the Cottagers, with two goals coming from Ollie Watkins who netted his 12th and 13th of the campaign.
If any part of the lineup was going to be left somewhat unphased by injury, it was the attack, with the midfield and defence needing to quickly adjust to change to avoid another defeat.
John McGinn thrived in a deeper role to cover for Kamara, while Pau Torres was restored to the back line to partner Clement Lenglet at the back, a combination that left one pundit wowed.
What Danny Murphy said about one Aston Villa duo
In what was his first appearance for Villa in 2024, the returning presence of Pau was welcomed with open arms as he restored stability to the defence after a difficult number of weeks.
Analysing the fixture on BBC Match of the Day, pundit Danny Murphy waxed lyrical about Emery’s defensive duo against Fulham, calling one element of Pau and Lenglet’s game ‘crucial’ to the win.
“The experience of the two centre-halves was crucial in getting them that result.”
With a combined total of nearly 700 domestic appearances between them, the Frenchman and the Spaniard combined effortlessly to bolster the heart of Villa’s defence.
How Clement Lenglet and Pau Torres impressed vs Fulham
Having now lost three centre-backs to injury, Pau’s return came at a critical moment and Lenglet was given his time to shine.
The duo’s experience certainly shone through against Fulham, with both players playing to their strengths to complement the pivot in central defence.
Acting as the anchor, Lenglet recorded a near-perfect pass completion rate of 98% as well as completing a dominant eight clearances to round off a wholly assured performance at the back.
As for Pau, the Spaniard did what he does best in encouraging the play ahead of him, winning 100% of his ground duels and completing 100% of his attempted dribbles, via Sofascore.
In what has been a tough season for Emery in terms of the fitness of his squad, the manager will be delighted to have a strong defensive partnership despite his limited options.
