Unai Emery sees Aston Villa return to winning ways with 23-cap star, and it’s no surprise

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Aston Villa recorded their second win in two Premier League games to finally get their campaign underway in a 2-1 win over Burnley at Villa Park on Sunday.

A slow start to the season saw Unai Emery’s men fail to score in their first four league games of the campaign, but they’ve since turned that around by going four games unbeaten in the top-flight.

Donyell Malen’s opener in the first half saw the Dutchman go on to double his tally after the break to put Aston Villa into a commanding lead over Scott Parker’s side.

Burnley midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu halved the deficit after some poor goalkeeping from Emiliano Martinez, but Villa stood strong to put nine points on the board after seven games.

Moving up to 13th in the league table, they have now staved off any immediate relegation woes after a dismal start to the campaign.

And one man in particular has coincided with their strong form, with Pau Torres being reintroduced in recent weeks to propel them up the table.

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Pau Torres has been instrumental to Aston Villa’s turnaround in form under Unai Emery

Torres was benched against Newcastle United on the opening day of the season, and although he started in the 1-0 loss to Brentford a week later, he was only introduced late on against Crystal Palace whilst the Villans were 2-0 down.

Failing to appear against Everton or Sunderland as Villa struggled for their first win, he came back into the side against Bologna in the Europa League.

Since then, it’s only been a winning feeling in the West Midlands.

Unai Emery’s side have now won four games from four, with Torres starting in both Europa League wins that have included clean sheets over Bologna and Feyenoord. And, having replaced injured Tyrone Mings against Fulham last week with Villa 1-0 down, they turned the game around and didn’t concede again to take all three points in a 3-1 victory.

Burnley’s goal today was the first time that Villa had conceded in 316 minutes with Torres at the back, and even then he wasn’t to blame for the Clarets finding a way back into the game.

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Pau Torres’ experience should rank him ahead of Tyrone Mings in Aston Villa pecking order

Mings’ injury has certainly helped Torres’ case, but it’s potentially also helped Emery with a selection headache.

Ezri Konsa is their out-and-out selection on the right side of the heart of defence, whilst left-footed duo Mings and Torres have battled it out as his partner.

Another win today has changed the trajectory of Villa’s season, and it’s no surprise that the Spain international’s return to the starting XI has coincided with an upturn in form.

With 23 Spain caps, 57 Premier League appearances and 21 Champions League outings, his experience is vital and with Villa now just two points from a potential European spot, their continental dreams are back on.