- Aston Villa defeated Nottingham Forest 4-2 thanks to a brace from Douglas Luiz and strikes from Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey.
Aston Villa defeated Nottingham Forest 4-2 thanks to a brace from Douglas Luiz and strikes from Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey.
In the battle for the top four, the win at Villa Park puts Unai Emery’s team five points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, while Forest is still just four points ahead of Luton Town, who are the first team below the relegation cut.
The visitors, behind 3-0 at the break, came back to score goals from Moussa Niakhate and Morgan Gibbs-White to trim the deficit to 3-2. However, they wasted a couple of excellent late opportunities and were punished for their carelessness.
Niakhate was the only player Nuno Espirito Santo added to his starting lineup from the game against West Ham United; Nuno Tavares was left out of the squad for today’s trip to Villa Park, thus Emery stuck with the lineup he used in their 2-1 victory over Fulham last week.
Following back-to-back losses to Chelsea in the FA Cup and Manchester United in the Premier League a few days later, Aston Villa was in a small slump. However, they overcame Fulham last weekend to get back on track, and they came out swinging this afternoon.
Ollie Watkins. Photo/ Birmingham Live
In just four minutes, Bailey—who is enjoying a prolonged stint in the starting lineup—created the first opportunity of the game by tricking Niakhate down the right flank and then perfectly rolling the ball across the six-yard box for Watkins to tap in. Bailey looked especially menacing during the opening exchanges.
With the goal, the England international scored his 14th league goal of the 2023–24 Premier League season. Villa had scored 25 goals in the first half of 26 games, more than any other team in the top division this year.
In only five minutes, Watkins almost increased his team’s lead when Jacob Ramsey found him with a cross into the center. He blasted the goal from 12 yards out, but Niakhate was there to block the attempt that was going in the right direction.
The hosts were controlling the game’s flow until Matty Cash scored a game-winning goal at the half-hour mark, despite Forest’s obvious struggles to keep up with their opponent’s deft passing.
The hosts were controlling the game until the half-hour mark when Matty Cash burst down the flank and put a nice ball into the box that fell to Ramsey, who set up Luiz for the second goal of the afternoon for the Villans. It was clear that Forest was finding it difficult to keep up with their opponent’s deft passing.
As halftime drew near, it appeared as though Villa had secured the victory until John McGinn turned a corner into a dangerous cross that was headed toward the opposition penalty area. Luiz capitalized on the cross with a header to score his second goal of the game and Villa’s third.
Leon Bailey. Photo/ ston Villa
But just on the cusp of halftime, the visitors were awarded a corner, which was headed back across goal and dropped to Niakhate, who finished well from close range.
Divock Origi, Harry Toffolo, and Andrew Omobamidele were substituted for Murillo, Felipe, and Taiwo Awoniyi, respectively, by Santo at the half. Origi immediately had an impact, setting up Gibbs-White in the box, who cut the deficit to one goal just two minutes into the second half.
Early in the second half, the visitors were superior. In the 50th minute, Anthony Elanga had a clear opportunity to tie the score when Nicolas Dominguez sent him through on goal, but the former Manchester United player lacked the necessary composure and pulled his effort off target.
Bailey’s goal, which came after Watkins’ shot that rebounded off Matz Sels and dropped well into his path, gave Villa the much-needed fourth goal to calm everyone down as Forest pushed for an equalizer. Just after the hour, he gave his team a 4-2 lead, finishing flawlessly.
The last 20 minutes of the game saw a few half-chances generated by the Reds, but Emery’s team had set up to play on the counter and saw the game out to put themselves firmly in the running for Champions League football the next season, even if Forest is still just four points above the bottom.
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