Aston Villa continued their impressive run with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, thanks to quickfire goals from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen in the Premier League clash between two Champions League hopefuls.
With the win, Villa secured their eighth consecutive victory in all competitions, moving up to sixth place in the Premier League with 51 points.
They now trail third-placed Forest by six points, as both clubs battle for a spot in Europe’s top-tier competition for next season, a feat Forest haven’t achieved since 1980.
“Good to win today but there’s still work to do,” Villa manager Unai Emery told the BBC. “We have got all nine points from the past three matches and it’s very important that we are reducing the distance to the teams in front.
“It’s still very difficult to achieve as our objective is to get Europe again through the Premier League.”
Rogers opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a composed finish, bringing down Youri Tielemans’ lofted pass before slipping the ball through Matz Sels’ legs.
Just two minutes later, Malen doubled the lead by calmly tapping in a well-placed cross from Ian Maatsen.
Nottingham Forest responded with greater urgency after the break and were rewarded when Jota Silva fired past Emiliano Martínez in the 57th minute to halve the deficit.
“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,” Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo admitted.
“We were better in the second half, we put up a big fight.”
The match was high-octane throughout, with Forest taking 19 shots compared to Villa’s 17 — including 13 efforts from the visitors in the second half alone. Defender Murillo nearly salvaged a point late on with a thunderous strike from 25 yards, only to see it crash off the crossbar.
Villa nearly added a third deep into stoppage time when Marcus Rashford found himself clean through on goal. His chipped attempt was saved by Sels, who then reacted swiftly to punch the ball clear before Rashford could pounce again.
“This victory is very important,” Emery noted. “Very happy with the victory. Very demanding of myself to improve things within… I am happy because we have three points more.”
Despite Forest entering the game unbeaten in their last four league matches, Villa’s dominance at Villa Park continued.
The Birmingham side have now won 17 of their last 25 home games in all competitions and remain unbeaten at home since their League Cup loss to Crystal Palace on October 30.
Next up for Villa is a daunting trip to face Paris St Germain on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie.
