Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Serge Aurier made his first appearance for Villarreal on Saturday, but it ended in defeat at the hands of Athletic Bilbao.
The Ivory Coast international joined the Yellow Submarine on a free transfer earlier this month after seeing his contract at Tottenham terminated by mutual consent over the summer.
He made his Villarreal debut on Saturday evening when manager Unai Emery brought him onto the field as a 65th-minute substitute to replace former Spurs teammate Juan Foyth.
However, the encounter didn’t exactly end the way he would have wanted it to, as Bilbao managed to claim all three points with a 2-1 win at the San Mames Stadium.
The scores were level at 1-1 when Aurier entered the action but Villarreal conceded just 12 minutes after he came on. The goal came from the penalty spot, although despite his track record, it wasn’t Aurier who gave it away.
The defeat sees Aurier’s new side slip to 13th in LaLiga, while Bilbao move up to seventh, closing the gap to the European places.
Aurier’s next chance to feature could come on Thursday night when Villarreal return to the Estadio de la Ceramica to host struggling Cadiz.
Spurs Web Opinion
Aurier divided opinion during his time at Spurs, but ultimately it is good that he has found a new club and is starting to settle down. He is clearly a talented full-back but you feel as if we never got to his whole potential during his stint at the club.
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