Pau Torres ‘pulling the strings’ as record-breaking Aston Villa statistic emerges in win v Crystal Palace

Aston Villa left it very late to take all three points in their Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace on Saturday (16 September).

Odsonne Edouard thought he had secured a surprise victory for the visitors when he netted just after the halfway stage.

But goals from Jhon Duran, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey in the dying minutes at Villa Park clinched an important win for the hosts.

While Villa manager Unai Emery will have been delighted that his men found the back of the net three times, the man in the dugout will have been disappointed to concede to the Eagles, particularly just two minutes after the break.

He will no doubt have had a strong word or two for his defenders after the game, but at the same time the Spaniard will be thrilled with one record-breaking statistic from his compatriot Pau Torres.

As per WhoScored (18 September, Torres’ 117 accurate passes against Crystal Palace is the “most recorded by an Aston Villa player in a league match since we started collecting Opta data in 2009/10. Pulling the strings for Unai Emery’s side.”

It often takes players quite some time to not only settle into a new club, but into a new country, but it seems that Torres has adapted to life at Vill Park very quickly.

In a superb all-round performance, the centre-back registered three tackles, one interception and one clearance, and won three of his four duels throughout the 90 minutes (SofaScore).

And in terms of his passing masterclass, the defender finished the match with a 94% passing accuracy, which included nine out of 11 accurate long balls.

In other Aston Villa news, one Aston Villa Women star has been recognised by FIFA after her “year to remember.”