Aston Villa prepared for a glamorous midweek Champions League trip to Paris with a victory that keeps alive their hopes of qualifying for next season’s competition via the Premier League although Nuno Espírito Santo must wonder how.
His side, without a regular striker due to injuries, dominated second half proceedings and pulled a goal back through Jota Silva, cancelling out Villa’s two early efforts, but could not convert another of the host of chances that came their way.
Forest were still getting to grips with their re-shuffled formation that did not contain an orthodox number nine by the time they found themselves two goals down, inside the opening 15 minutes.
Villa had already demonstrated their keenness to attack Forest’s back three, or five, particularly down the flanks although the opening goal was a lot more basic.
Youri Tielemans, one of just three survivors from the midweek win at Brighton as Unai Emery shuffled his pack ahead of this week’s PSG Champions League quarter-final, collected a short free-kick just inside his half.
And he was able to float a routine long ball over the Forest back line for Morgan Rogers, inexplicably ignored by them, to chase, take a superb touch and convert past Matz Sels.
Part of the problem appeared to be Forest defender Morato adjusting his shin pad as the free-kick had been taken and, therefore, a crucial step behind Rodgers as the ball floated over. It was hardly a Champions League-standard piece of defending by a team with aspirations to be there next season.
By contrast, these are buoyant times at Villa Park – unprecedented in the Premier League era – and the home support needed little encouragement to get behind their team, all the more so when they doubled the lead two minutes later.
This time, the goal came from attacking the wide areas, Tielemans playing a clever pass which put Ian Maatsen into space down the left as he sized up activity in the Forest six-yard box.
The full-back timed and weighted his cross to perfection for Donyell Malen to arrive ahead of his nominal marker Neco Williams and force the ball over the line from four yards.
Villa Park predictably erupted and Forest, despite their outstanding season, looked shellshocked, barely able to leave their half in the minutes that followed.
But the eight changes made by Emery, not surprisingly, contributed to some errors creeping into Villa’s play as the half progressed, carelessness with the ball at the back a real problem.
There was also the Anthony Elanga factor. In a carbon copy of his midweek winner against Manchester United, he gathered the ball in his own half on 21 minutes and slalomed half the length of the field before shooting just wide.
Callum Hudson-Odoi soon followed suit, after Rogers lost the ball in his own half, with a darting run into the area and a shot that flew just off the mark.
Villa managed to survive the remainder of the half, with Emery bringing on Ezri Konsa in a bid to strengthen his defence at the interval, but, if anything, it had the opposite effect.
Forest were irrepressible at the start of the second half, Jota Silva having replaced Elanga and clearly in the mood to prove his worth, although it was Hudson-Odoi who was the major player in their recovery.
On 52 minutes he set up a glorious chance for Neco Williams which the defender placed wide from a dozen yards, after Villa’s defence was caught waiting for an offside, and moments later, Hudson-Odoi curled a shot just wide, himself.
But there was no reprieve for Villa after 57 minutes when Williams cross found both Elliot Anderson and Jota in space and, after the pair briefly seemed about to collide, the latter took the ball off Anderson and scored.
Forest were rampant, Anderson almost connecting with another Williams cross and then Anderson, yet again, having time and composure in the penalty area but narrowly failing to hit the target.
Emery, whose reactions on the touchline to his team’s decline had become increasingly animated, made a triple substitution just before the hour – Marcus Rashford among them – and Rogers almost scored a third on the counter-attack, as did Tielemans, who was denied by Sels.
But Forest still looked the more likely to score the next goal, as Morgan Gibbs-White had almost done on 67 minutes when shooting just wide from yet another intelligent pass from Hudson-Odoi.
After a Tielemans effort had been well held by Sels, Williams summed up Forest’s frustrations at the end of another marauding run, rolling a shot inches wide of the far post.
The sight of Murillo clipping the cross-bar and Rashford almost scoring on a late break, both in added time, summed up a riveting game.
07:53 PM BST
Neco Williams gives the Forest reaction
We weren’t good enough in the first half, especially the first 15 minutes, and they created so many more chances. They came at us, got their goals and that’s what killed us.
It’s frustrating because we dominated the second half but we couldn’t get it over the line. The positives are there – if we weren’t creating chances it would be a problem.
All we can do now is focus on the next match against Everton. These last games are huge for us.
07:39 PM BST
Morgan Rogers’ reaction
We knew we had to start fast and in the first half I thought we were outstanding. We knew they’d come back into the game so to withstand their pressure is massive for us.
[On the eight changes] We made some big signings in January. Football’s a squad game, that’s what it’s all about, and the players who came in today did an outstanding job.
[On his first goal] I saw Morato wasn’t looking when I made the run. I had to get my first touch right and get a clean strike off. It’s a a nice finish.
It’s a bit surreal to be playing Paris Saint-Germain but we’re playing well and we’ll go into that game with confidence.
07:23 PM BST
Full time: Villa 2 Forest 1
Aston Villa extend their winning run to seven after a richly entertaining game at Villa Park. They were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen but had to withstand a ferocious Forest onslaught either side of Jota Silva’s goal. There were loads of close shaves at both ends, including a piledriver from Murillo that hit the bar in injury-time. All in all, it was great fun.
07:21 PM BST
90+2 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Fine save by Sels! Rashford runs through on goal, onto McGinn’s pass, and tries to flick the ball over Sels. He makes a half stop and then springs to his feet to stop the ball bouncing into the empty net. Brilliant goalkeeping.
07:20 PM BST
90+1 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Murillo hits the bar! It was a sensational effort, clubbed towards goal from 25 yards with his left foot. It whistled just over the hand of Martinez - who may have had it covered had it been on target - and clattered the top of the bar.
07:19 PM BST
90 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Forest have four added minutes in which to find an equaliser.
07:18 PM BST
89 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Rashford’s corner is punched away awkwardly by Sels, who had to come round a Forest defender and was standing behind the line when he made the save.
07:16 PM BST
88 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Rogers’ shot on the turn hits Boly and spins over the bar. This could easily be 3-3.
07:14 PM BST
86 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Martinez is booked for taking too long over the resulting free-kick.
07:14 PM BST
85 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Martinez makes a superb reaction save to deny Jota, though it turned out Jota was well offside.
07:12 PM BST
83 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Rashford hammers a superb crossfield pass to Rogers, who runs his man to win a corner. Rogers has been very impressive again, both from the right and in a central position.
07:10 PM BST
82 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
So close from Williams! Gibbs-White finds space and flicks a superb return pass to Williams, playing at right-back now. He gets away from Maatsen and spanks a low shot from the angle that whistles just wide of the far post.
07:08 PM BST
80 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
A sharp cutback from Rogers on the right is swept wide of the near post by Kamara. A quarter chance.
07:07 PM BST
78 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Anderson, a real threat in the second half, surges to the end of the area but shoots high over the bar. An equaliser wouldn’t flatter Forest given the chances they’ve created.
07:06 PM BST
77 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Williams’ cross is headed wide by Gibbs-White, who leapt high but couldn’t quite get over the ball. Hudson-Odoi was behind him in a slightly better position but Gibbs-White didn’t get/hear a shout.
07:03 PM BST
75 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Double substitution for Forest Ramon Sosa and Willy Boly come on for Nicolas Dominguez and Morato.
07:02 PM BST
74 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Villa substitution John McGinn comes on for Marco Asensio.
07:01 PM BST
73 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Jota fouls Konsa and is booked.
07:01 PM BST
72 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Ramsey cuts into the area from the left and is challenged. The ball breaks to Tielemans, whose snapshot is pushed away by the diving Sels.
06:58 PM BST
69 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Good save by Sels! End-to-end stuff now. Ramsey runs down the left and plays a nice square pass to Asensio, who takes the shot first time from a tight angle. Sels, well positioned at the near post, makes the block.
06:57 PM BST
68 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Another opening for Forest. Hudson-Odoi runs at Konsa and flicks the ball back to Gibbs-White on the edge of the area. He is at full stretch when he takes the shot and the ball fades past the far post.
06:55 PM BST
66 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Superb save by Sels! Rogers rolls Murillo on the halfway line and suddenly Villa are two on one with Rashford to his left. Rogers runs all the way into the area, dances past the last defender Milenkovic and pushes a low shot that is brilliantly stopped by the outrushing Sels.
06:54 PM BST
64 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Martinez collects a cross, is blocked from throwing the ball by Jota and gets involved in a bit of pushing and shoving. Nothing to see but Jota has certainly stirred things up.
06:51 PM BST
62 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Triple substitution for Villa Marcus Rashford, Jacob Ramsey and Boubacar Kamara replace Donyell Malen, Ollie Watkins and Amadou Onana.
06:50 PM BST
61 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Just called it. That goal had been coming and was deserved. Nuno’s halftime sub Jota Silva pulls one back. That sub worked. Villa’s defensive “strengthening” at the interval? Not so much.
06:49 PM BST
60 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Just wide from Anderson! It’s all Forest now. Hudson-Odoi plays the ball back to Anderson on the left side of the area. He takes a touch and swishes a shot that flashes just wide of the far post with Martinez beaten.
06:48 PM BST
59 min: Villa 2 Forest 1
Williams surges down the left again and tries to find Anderson at the near post with a low cross. Tielemans nips in front to make a vital, possibly goal-saving tackle.
06:46 PM BST
Goal!
57 min: Villa 2 Forest 1 (Jota) A superb goal from the substitute Jota Silva! Williams’ low cross was heading for Anderson, who was in the act of shooting when Jota took the ball of his toe and reversed a shot on the turn that beat the sprawling Martinez to his left.
It looked a brilliantly precise finish at first but replays suggest a deflection also played a part.
06:42 PM BST
53 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Williams misses a great chance! Hudson-Odoi retrieves a cross near the byline and plays the ball back to Williams. He dummies the sliding defender superbly but then slices his shot wide of the far post.
Moments later, Hudson-Odoi shapes a teasing curler just wide of the far post. Good effort.
06:40 PM BST
51 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
And now Asensio is booked for a late challenge on Williams.
06:38 PM BST
49 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Morato is booked for a hopelessly late challenge on Malen.
06:37 PM BST
48 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Neco Williams mistakes himself for Arie Haan and has a pop from nearly 40 yards. Goalkick to Villa.
06:34 PM BST
46 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Villa get the second half under way.
06:34 PM BST
Half-time substitutions
Both managers have made a change, possibly enforced.
Villa Ezri Konsa for Andres Garcia
Forest Jota Silva for Anthony Elanga.
06:25 PM BST
Half-time verdict
Still 2-0 at the break at Villa and it looked like the hosts weathered the best Forest had to throw at them well. Emery will be looking for better discipline, and better care of the ball, in the second half, judging by one or two of his first half reactions.
06:18 PM BST
Half time: Aston Villa 2 Nottingham Forest 0
That was a superb first-half performance from a much changed Villa side. Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen scored in a devastating three-minute burst, and for most of the half they looked sharper and hungrier than Forest.
06:17 PM BST
45+1 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Williams’ floated cross is headed straight at Martinez by his fellow wing-back Dominguez.
06:14 PM BST
43 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Villa have kept Forest at arm’s length for most of the first half, with Gibbs-White especially quiet. It won’t be a surprise if Nuno Espirito Santo switches to a back four at half-time.
06:11 PM BST
40 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Martinez makes his first save, comfortably holding Yates’s curler from 25 yards.
06:10 PM BST
39 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Disasi gallops forward from the back, runs through a couple of woolly Forest challenges but then shoots high over the bar from distance.
06:07 PM BST
36 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Asensio whips a free-kick from 25 yards that is comfortably saved by Sels. At the other end, though Forest went close through Elanga and Hudson-Odoi, Villa’s keeper Emi Martinez hasn’t had a save to make.
06:02 PM BST
31 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Elanga breaks into the area and is eased to the gloor by Disasi. It was a clumsy challenge, a kind of half-shove, but there were no real appeals for a penalty and Simon Hooper waved play on.
06:01 PM BST
29 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Having written off Forest after 15 minutes, they could be level. Elanga, with a carbon copy of his midweek winner against United, and Hudson-Odoi have gone close. That’s the Forest style, play on the counter-attack. The only problem is, that requires a brilliant defence. Forest’s hasn’t be so far today.
05:59 PM BST
27 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
The next goal is a big one. If Villa get it the match is over, but if Forest score they will feel like they are right back in the game.
05:55 PM BST
23 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Just wide from Hudson-Odoi! Rogers loses the ball in a dangerous position to Yates, who finds Hudson-Odoi. He moves into the area and screws a low shot from a tight angle that goes past the far post. That was a good effort from a tight angle.
05:53 PM BST
22 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Just wide by Elanga! Anthony Elanga almost repeats his wonderful goal against Manchester United. He ran the length of the field, this time in the inside-left channel, before sidefooting a shot across goal and just past the far post.
05:50 PM BST
19 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
Donyell Malen, with his first goal for the club at Villa Park, makes it 2-0. This one looks over after 15 minutes, based on the quality of Forest’s defending.
05:49 PM BST
17 min: Villa 2 Forest 0
At the other end, Dominguez shoots well wide from distance. Forest’s switch to a back three hasn’t worked at all.
05:47 PM BST
Goal!
15 min: Villa 2 Forest 0 (Malen) Eight changes? Who cares: Villa’s second string are running riot! Maatsen twists Dominguez inside out on the left wing and sidefoots a marvellous cross that gives Malen a tap-in from four yards at the far post.
05:44 PM BST
Goal!
13 min: Villa 1 Forest 0 (Rogers) Erm, that bit wasn’t with Forest’s consent. Morgan Rogers has given Villa the lead with a smart finish. Tielemans, in space in the centre circle, waved a golf shot over the defence towards Rogers. He controlled the ball beautifully on the run and drive it through the legs of Sels with his left foot. The goal was helped by a weird bit of defending from Morato, who was playing around with his shinpad when Rogers ran off him.
05:43 PM BST
11 min: Villa 0 Forest 0
Villa are having most of the possession, though it’s with Forest’s consent - they are the best counter-attacking team in England and prefer to play this way.
05:40 PM BST
8 min: Villa 0 Forest 0
Just wide by Asensio! Garcia, on the right, curls a dangerous cross that bounces awkwardly towards Asensio at the near post. He stretches to guide the ball across goal and just wide of the far post. The bounce made it trickier but he will be frustrated not to hit the target.
05:37 PM BST
6 min: Villa 0 Forest 0
Good save by Sels! Maatsen veers infield from the left, plays a neat one-two with Watkins just inside the area and forces a shot that is well saved to his left by Sels. He’s had an outstanding season.
05:36 PM BST
5 min: Villa 0 Forest 0
Interesting tweak from Nuno, with both Forest strikers Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi out injured. Looks like he’s playing a three (or five) at the back in a 3-4-3 style formation. Leaves Morgan Gibbs-White as a de facto false nine - will be interesting to see how he does there.
05:35 PM BST
4 min: Villa 0 Forest 0
A quiet start to the game. The low sun is forcing a few players to shield their eyes when they are in line with it.
05:32 PM BST
2 min: Villa 0 Forest 0
Forest have started with a back three, as expected. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga are playing as split strikers with Morgan Gibbs-White floating around them.
05:31 PM BST
1 min: Villa 0 Forest 0
Forest get the match under way, kicking from right to left as we watch.
05:10 PM BST
Gibbs-White to play as false nine?
Nuno Espirito Santo has started without an orthodox centre-forward, with Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi both unavailable, so Gibbs-White could start as a false nine in a 3-4-3 formation.
05:04 PM BST
Today’s Premier League results
04:55 PM BST
Emery plans for Paris trip
Teams are in at a blowy Villa Park where the hosts make eight changes for the visit of Forest. I’m not saying Unai Emery has one eye on Wednesday’s Champions League visit to PSG, but …. Martinez, Tielemans and Rogers the only survivors from the midweek league line-up that beat Brighton.
04:49 PM BST
Hundred up for Williams
04:33 PM BST
Nottingham Forest team news
Three changes for Forest from the side that beat Manchester United. Morato replaces the injured Ola Aina, Callum Hudson-Odoi returns in place of the injured Taiwo Awoniyi and Nicolas Dominguez is preferred to Danilo.
04:31 PM BST
Aston Villa team news
Unai Emery has rested most of his first-choice XI ahead of that match against Paris Saint-Germain. Only Emi Martinez, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers remain from the XI that started at Brighton in midweek.
04:19 PM BST
Good evening
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest at Villa Park. These clubs both have Champions League football on their mind. Villa play Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-final on Wednesday, while Forest are closing in on a place in Europe’s premier competition for the first time since CSKA Sofia dethroned Brian Clough’s on 1 October 1980. It’s an astonishing performance from a team that finished 17th last year – but Nuno Espirito Santo knows the job isn’t quite done.
Forest’s main concern at the moment is the loss of key players like Chris Wood and Ola Aina, who went off against Manchester United with a calf injury. “We’re going to miss his quality, his talent and the routines that he already has with his teammates,” said Nuno. “The absence of Ola is one big problem because we’re going to miss him, but we have to find a solution.”
Villa and Forest could yet meet in the FA Cup final, and Villa go into today’s match on the back of six straight wins. “Villa are a very good team,” said Nuno. “In the January window, they reinforced and balanced the squad. But even before that, since when I joined, they’ve been improving and getting a really good squad of players with talent and quality.”
One of those is the in-form Marcus Rashford, who should make his 500th career appearance tonight. “I’m happy for him,” said Unai Emery. “Happy because he is achieving individual objectives as well. And try to enjoy with him, not more, try to feel comfortable himself every day here, with everything we are doing and with his team-mates.
“Training, playing and of course with the challenges we have together, to try to achieve, and to play in his best form, qualities, skills and confidence.”
Kick off 5.30pm.
