Aston Villa held on to earn a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest to boost their hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League.
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The Villa Park faithful were treated to two goals in two minutes early in the first half, with Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen putting them 2-0 up after 15 minutes.
A much-improved second-half performance from Forest led to half-time substitute Jota Silva halving the deficit after he neatly turned Villa’s defence to pick out the far corner.
Despite coming close on a number of occasions, Forest’s pressure did not turn into a late equaliser, as Villa were able to extend their winning streak to seven games in all competitions.
Unai Emery’s side climb to sixth, level on points with Manchester City, who face Manchester United on Sunday, while Forest remain third, missing the chance to close the gap on Arsenal.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
30 | +43 | 73 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
31 | +30 | 62 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
31 | +14 | 57 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
30 | +17 | 52 |
How the match unfolded
Villa made a lightning-quick start, with Ian Maatsen seeing a shot saved before Rogers fizzed a low drive across the box and into the bottom-right corner 13 minutes in.
Forest were cut open again only 138 seconds later. Maatsen weaved down the left before squaring a low cross into the six-yard box for Malen to fire past Matz Sels from close range.
Anthony Elanga almost recreated his wonderful midweek solo goal against Man United shortly after those two goals, only to drag wide after a marauding run, while Callum Hudson-Odoi’s strike from the right of the box also rolled past Emiliano Martinez’s far post.
Forest improved in the second half, eventually finding space down the left as Jota met Neco Williams’ cross to spin and pick out the bottom corner.
Rogers saw a one-on-one shot smothered by Sels, who also made a double save to deny Marcus Rashford in stoppage time, moments after Murillo had struck the crossbar with a spectacular long-range shot in search of an equaliser.
Villa ride the storm
Villa picked up where they left off after the international break with two comfortable wins in the FA Cup and Premier League, but things were not quite so smooth ahead of a big week.
With a Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday looming, Emery rung the changes, but Villa made the best start possible by throwing everything they had at Forest.
Rogers had been a doubt heading into this game, having limped off against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday, but he showed no signs of injury as he ghosted in behind to reach Youri Tielemans’ pass.
After Malen struck his second goal in two games for Villa, it looked like the hosts were cruising, with Martinez forced into little work in the first half.
They were a shadow of their first-half performance after the break, unable to find answers as Nuno Espirito Santo’s changes broke up their rhythm, resulting in Jota’s goal.
Emery had some tricks up his own sleeve, though, and the momentum swung back in their favour, with Marco Asensio and Tielemans denied by Sels, who did brilliantly to smother Rashford’s late chance before clawing away the rebound.
Next up in the league for Villa is a trip to Southampton, who may be relegated by the time the match is played.
Forest falter against dynamic approach
The race for the top five is hotting up with only seven games left, though Forest still remains in the driving seat for a place in next year’s Champions League.
With Arsenal dropping points against Everton earlier on Saturday, Forest could have closed the gap to second. But instead, they could see their cushion in third place cut to two points if Chelsea beat Brentford on Sunday.
Forest have received plaudits this season for their defensive stability, but they were uncharacteristically shaky in the opening stages and had already got away with one when Asensio drilled wide before the two quickfire Villa goals.
Nuno was able to shore things up before the break, with his side showing promise on the counter-attack, but the half-time substitution turned the tide.
Jota not only got the goal, but his busy approach rattled the Villa defence as he continuously caused problems around the box. Williams was a lively figure as well and could have snatched a late equaliser after a neat one-two with Morgan Gibbs-White, only to drag his effort narrowly wide
Forest have never been able to overturn a two-goal half-time deficit in the Premier League, with this the 79th game in which it has happened. Nuno will be keen to get back on track with Everton up next.
Club reports
What the managers said
Unai Emery: "We started dominating. They were playing tactically, a medium-low block and we started dominating because they were not pressing high, not getting out. We were creating chances and we scored goals.
"The second half, I am not happy. They were changing their tactics and taking more duels aggressively, pressing higher and we were not dominating like we have to."
Nuno Espirito Santo: "We started the game really bad, we were not organised and we didn't close the lines. Villa broke us many times, it was a poor first half.
"We were better in the second half, we put up a big fight. In the second half we were more dominant and created problems for Aston Villa."
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Key facts
Villa have won seven consecutive games in all competitions for the first time since a 10-game winning run between March and April 2019 (while in the Championship), doing so as a top-flight side for the first time since a seven-match run in March 1981.
There was only 138 seconds between Morgan Rogers’ opener (12min 15sec) and Donyell Malen (14min 33sec) putting Villa 2-0 up.
Having failed to register a goal in any of his first 22 Premier League appearances, Jota Silva has since scored in three of his last four. Since the turn of the year all three of his goals have come as a substitute, with no player scoring more goals from the bench in 2025 (level with Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz).