'When he saw Liverpool...': Stuart Pearce slams £32m Aston Villa man for what he did at Anfield tonight

11/09/2024 05:05 PM

Aston Villa lost yet another Premier League game at Anfield as Liverpool saw them off comfortably to run out 2-0 winners and stay top of the league.

Goals from Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez ensured a comfortable night at the office for Liverpool against a Villa side who never really got going.

Unai Emery will have been disappointed with many aspects of the performance and in the main, it was not what he’s expected to see from his side in recent months.

Villa, of course, are dealing with Champions League football but after spending a chunk of money once again in the summer, their squad should be able to cope.

And against Liverpool, former England defender Stuart Pearce was quick to criticise one big-money signing, Pau Torres, for his role in the defeat.

Pau Torres slammed by Stuart Pearce during Liverpool v Aston Villa

Speaking live on TalkSPORT about the potential penalty incident as Torres went down, Pearce slammed the Villa man and insisted he stayed down rather than help his team in the hope he got a decision.

"No, not a penalty for me. I think he has gone down very cheaply, trying to buy a penalty, and when he saw Liverpool break away, decided to stay there and hope they will get a decision,” Pearce said.

Torres moment showed Villa’s desperation

We aren’t saying that Pau Torres might not have hurt himself in the incident with Ryan Gravenberch but it was 100% not a penalty.

Quite why he insisted on staying down and simply letting Liverpool run ahead and score is anyone’s guess.

Yes, there was a mistake that led to the goal but had Torres been able to get up, he might just have got back to help out when it mattered.

As it was, Torres saw Mo Salah race away and put the game to bed while his penalty shouts were in vain as the VAR checked and stuck with the on-field decision.