Aston Villa returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 3-1 home victory over struggling Nottingham Forest, easing the sting of their heavy midweek defeat by Arsenal and moving up to second place in the Premier League.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and a second-half double by John McGinn secured the points for Unai Emery’s side at Villa Park, with Morgan Gibbs-White scoring Forest’s consolation goal.
Villa’s 11-match winning run in all competitions had been emphatically ended by a 4-1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, prompting questions over their title credentials. However, the result against Forest ensured their formidable home form remained intact, extending their winning streak at Villa Park to 11 matches since an opening-day defeat by Crystal Palace in August.
Speaking after the match, Emery said his squad had responded positively to the setback against Arsenal.
“I am so happy,” he told Sky Sports. “We had to recover our energy and our confidence. Here, at Villa Park, the energy we create was really important.
“Forest are competitive. After the Arsenal match we met — the players and staff — how we are doing this season, how we are feeling, how we needed to keep the same consistency as before. How we needed to be together and strong.”
Villa dominated possession in the opening half on a bitterly cold afternoon but initially struggled to convert their control into clear chances. Their pressure eventually told just before the interval when Watkins broke the deadlock.
The England forward received the ball outside the area from Morgan Rogers and fired home emphatically for his fourth goal in three matches.
Villa doubled their advantage four minutes after the restart when McGinn side-footed home from a Matty Cash cross. The hosts appeared comfortable until Forest reduced the deficit in the 61st minute, Gibbs-White lifting a composed finish over goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Any hopes of a Forest comeback were effectively ended in the 73rd minute after a defensive lapse. Goalkeeper John Victor rushed out to contest a long pass from Youri Tielemans despite covering defenders being in position, allowing McGinn to collect the loose ball, sidestep the goalkeeper and calmly roll the ball into an empty net from distance.
The win lifted Villa to 42 points, three behind leaders Arsenal and one ahead of Manchester City. Arsenal were due to visit Bournemouth later on Saturday, while City host Chelsea on Sunday.
Forest, meanwhile, suffered a fourth consecutive league defeat and remain just one place above the relegation zone, four points clear of West Ham, who face Wolves later in the day.
Forest manager Sean Dyche, appointed in October following the dismissal of Ange Postecoglou, acknowledged the scale of the challenge facing his side.
“The mentality is there but you can’t keep giving yourself a mountain to climb,” he told the BBC. “Players were switching off to the basics. We have worked on it and shown them but this is the job. I never expected it to be easy when I got here.”
