The young defender underlined his optimism ahead of this Friday’s game with Atlético

Defender Pau Francisco Torres underlined his confidence in Villarreal’s chances ahead of this Friday’s game with Atlético Madrid at the Estadio de la Cerámica (9pm CET). “We’ve moved on and we now can’t wait to play in front of our fans and show that we can face them. We know that the calmness will return if we win. We can’t wait,” he said.”

For Pau, it will be key to keep up the intensity throughout the game: “Atlético always give everything. We need to be switched on for the full 90 minutes because they have great strikers. They’re a team that is very strong defensively, and they also make quick transitions. In Valencia, we dominated the games, but it slipped away from us in two moments. We must start better in the second half and fix our mistakes. We want to be strong at home. We have to be more aggressive without the ball. We want to win and transmit calmness to all the Yellows.”

Pau has stepped into the spotlight this season, making his Spain debut, which even saw him score. The defender only thinks about getting better: “In these moments where the team doesn’t win, you learn more because you’re focused on the mistakes and how you can improve.”