[Getty Images]BBCThu, November 27, 2025 at 2:15 PM UTC·1 min readThe extra games that a European campaign provides can often hinder a team's league form.
With less time to recover from fatigue and the long travel involved for some away matches, performances can often slip when the Premier League rolls around - but perhaps Aston Villa defender Pau Torres thinks differently.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking in a news conference before Thursday's match against Young Boys, the Spainard said: "We have been working well since we had [the poor form] at the beginning of the season. Europe helped us a lot in those moments, particularly Feyenoord away and Bologna at home.
"We felt strong again when we played well [in those games]. The Europa League can help us this season.
He was also asked about why their defensive record has improved recently: "It's not just the back four - it's work that involves every player in our team. We have a good defensive structure and everyone wants to recover the ball when we don't have it.
"We also have two very good goalkeepers; Marco Bizot helped us a lot at the start of the season and we have the best [version] of Emi [Martinez] with us."
Full commentary of Aston Villa v Young Boys on BBC Radio WM's FM frequencies from 17:45 GMT on Thursday.
