Aston Villa star Pau Torres was ‘particularly poor’ vs Brighton – why his shambolic display is more alarming than Joao Gomes’ | OneFootball

Aston Villa lost 4-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion in their 2026/27 Premier League opener yesterday.

The Villains have lost most of their spine in the summer transfer window, and Ollie Watkins seemingly wants to follow them out the door.

Villa did not get off to a good start as Pau Torres played a blind pass that led to Victor Lindelof’s own goal.

There was some more shoddy defending for the second and third goals before Joao Gomes was dispossessed for the fourth not long after.

The Brazilian midfielder subsequently received his marching orders for lashing out at Georginio Rutter.

Several Villa players were not at the races, and Gomes will likely get the brunt of the criticism for a terrible debut.

However, Torres was arguably the worst player on the day and the fact that he is supposed to be one of their more reliable players during this rebuild is worrying.

The 29-year-old made one error that led to a goal. His defending on Rutter for the second was lacklustre, and he was nowhere for the third.

The Spaniard won only one out of four duels and was dribbled past twice. He was ‘particularly poor.’

Torres will need to raise his level significantly in the coming weeks if he is to remain a key figure in this Villa side.

Villa are reportedly close to signing Taylor Harwood-Bellis, while they are also tracking Ecuadorian centre-back Joel Ordonez.

Harwood-Bellis is expected to play an important role, particularly as the Europa League champions look to build a more reliable defence.

Torres cannot afford too many more performances like this. He must rediscover his consistency quickly and show why he deserves to lead the new-look backline.