Aston Villa lost 4-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion in their 2026/27 Premier League opener, a result that will set off alarm bells.
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 face a sizeable rebuild, and it 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 Gomes got dispossessed for the fourth not long after.
The Brazilian midfielder, who was rushed back from injury, received his marching orders for lashing out at Georginio Rutter.
Several Aston Villa players were not at the races yesterday, 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 and another that could have 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 got 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.
They are reportedly close to signing Taylor Harwood-Bellis, while they are also tracking Ecuadorian centre-back Joel Ordonez.
Harwood-Bellis is expected to play important roles once he arrives, particularly as the Europa League champions look to build a more reliable defence.
Torres is supposed to be one of the leaders of this group, meaning he 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.