Aston Villa delivered the perfect response to their midweek defeat by Arsenal, securing a commanding 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at Villa Park to record their 11th consecutive Premier League home win.
Villa's Dominant Display
The hosts, who moved second in the table ahead of Manchester City's Sunday fixture, were in control from the outset. Ollie Watkins, celebrating his 250th appearance for the club, opened the scoring with a powerful strike from the edge of the area. It was his sixth goal in eight games, underscoring his fine form.
Villa's early dominance was staggering, boasting 81% possession in the opening stages. Youri Tielemans had completed more passes than the entire Forest team after just 15 minutes, setting the tone for a one-sided first half.
McGinn Ends Goal Drought in Style
The game was effectively sealed early in the second half by captain John McGinn. Rested for the Arsenal loss, the Scottish international made a decisive impact. He first finished smartly with his left foot from a Matty Cash cross just four minutes after the restart.
Forest briefly threatened a comeback when Morgan Gibbs-White dinked a clever finish over Emi Martínez. However, any hopes of a fightback were extinguished when McGinn capitalised on a catastrophic error by Forest goalkeeper John Victor. Victor raced out of his goal to meet a Tielemans pass, only for McGinn to round him and slot into an empty net from 30 yards for his first Premier League goals since September.
Consequences for the Table
The result cements Aston Villa's remarkable position in the top three, now sitting just three points behind leaders Arsenal. For Unai Emery's side, it was a showcase of clinical finishing, a trait that has defined their season despite underlying statistics suggesting otherwise.
For Nottingham Forest, managed by Sean Dyche, it's a fourth straight defeat that drags them deeper into the relegation battle. While they showed occasional promise on the counter-attack, they were ultimately outclassed by a Villa side demonstrating genuine top-four credentials.
