These European Cup winners with Champions League dreams served up a second-half classic that left you hoping they face other on club football’s grandest stage next season.
Aston Villa’s early two-goal burst was enough to earn them a seventh straight win – but only just. Cruising at half-time against strikerless Nottingham Forest, Unai Emery’s men squeezed over the line thanks to the visitors’ wayward finishing after the break.
Substitute Jota Silva replied to those first-half strikes from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen and when Murillo hit the bar for Forest in stoppage time, Villa were home and dry.
Their attention now switches to Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain, while helping their bid to reach the competition again next year. Forest hope to be there, too, and while this result is a setback, it was a strong second-half display without injured forwards Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi that should give confidence for the weeks ahead.
If eight changes were a gamble from Unai Emery, it felt a decent time to make it. With top scorer Wood still sidelined, Forest were left without an orthodox centre-forward when Awoniyi was also forced to withdraw through injury.
Nuno Espirito Santo opted to use Morgan Gibbs-White as a false nine, with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga on the flanks and Morato stepping into a back three.
Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest to boost their Champions League ambitions
Morgan Rogers opened the scoring before Donyell Malen netted Villa’s second (pictured)
Forest pulled one back through Jota Silva to set up a grandstand finish at Villa Park
It was not enough to interrupt Villa’s stride. Ian Maatsen had already drawn a save from Matz Sels early on, and the Forest goalkeeper was beaten in the 13th minute.
Amadou Onana took a short free-kick to Youri Tielemans and, under no pressure, his fellow Belgian spotted Rogers charging into the box. The pass was as good as the first touch, which allowed Rogers to drill in the opener.
Moments later it was 2-0, with Tielemans at the heart of the move again. His pass caught Ryan Yates napping and when Maatsen sent the ball across goal, Malen was quicker and stronger than Neco Williams and steered the ball into the roof of the net.
That was the perfect platform for Villa to manage the game, though they could not relax totally given the pace in the Forest side.
After scoring one of the goals of the season to help Forest overcome Manchester United last week, Elanga nearly did it again. Picking the ball up inside his own half, the Swede burst into the Villa area and slid his effort just wide.
After Yates had intercepted Rogers’ sloppy lay-off, Hudson-Odoi went close from a similar angle, this time on the right.
Neither of those attempts forced Emi Martinez into action, however. The Argentine’s simple catch from Yates’ strike from distance was his first save of the match and he made a similarly easy stop from Nicolas Dominguez’s header.
Clearly cheesed off with life, Gibbs-White grumbled to substitute Harry Toffolo as he headed off the pitch for the interval. When Forest returned, Jota Silva had replaced Elanga, with Ezri Konsa coming on for Garcia for Villa.
Rogers finished low into the corner after being picked out by Youri Tielemans’ floated pass
Malen then netted two minutes later after finishing Ian Maatsen’s delivery from close range
But Silva ensured a nervy final half an hour after his strike slipped through Ezri Konsa’s legs
Callum Hudson-Odoi sent an effort just wide of Emiliano Martinez’s far post
Matz Sels was called into action several times in the second half to keep Forest in the game
Forest remain third in the table but are now just six points ahead of in-form Villa
Never question Forest’s attitude. Nuno’s men should have scored at least once in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but first Williams and then Hudson-Odoi failed to hit the target from ideal positions inside the box.
And the change worked when Williams beat Maatsen on the left and even though team-mate Elliot Anderson impeded him, Jota found space to shoot and the deflection off Konsa was enough to take it beyond Martinez. Forest were carving Villa open now and after more clever work from Gibbs-White, this time it was Anderson who came close to finding the corner from 12 yards.
If the first half had been a slow burner, this was now an excellent game. Emery made a triple change and Marcus Rashford, one of the substitutes, was left waiting in vain for a tap-in when Rogers broke through but choose to shoot not pass.
Forest kept pushing. Anderson was off target again and so was Gibbs-White – though only just. The visitors’ desire to equalise opened gaps at the back and Marco Asensio nearly profited, forcing a save from Sels.
Tielemans did the same with a clean strike from the edge of the box. Gibbs-White was in his element here and he rose to meet a cross from sub Ramon Sosa, only to guide it just wide. Emery had introduced Boubacar Kamara to try to plug the creaking dam in the middle and the Frenchman could even have made the game safe had he not fired into the Holte End from 20 yards.
Then it was Williams’ turn to lose his nerve. Running inside Maatsen, the Welshman was spotted by Gibbs-White and though he beat Martinez, he could not squeeze his effort inside the post. In stoppage time, Murillo’s piledriver from 25 yards was too good for Martinez and Villa were rescued by the crossbar, just before Sels denied Rashford his first goal for Villa at this ground.
