Aston Villa have recovered well from the 4-1 defeat at Arsenal. The “Villans” easily defeated Nottingham Forest at the start of the 20th Premier League matchday and climbed to second place in the table, at least overnight.
With the 3-1 win on Saturday, Villa overtook Manchester City, who can overtake the “Villans” again on Sunday with at least a draw against Chelsea FC. Nottingham, on the other hand, is still stuck in the basement, with little room left for the relegation places.
Brilliant start from Villa
The hosts got off to a brilliant start, Ollie Watkins appeared in front of Nottingham’s goal in the second minute, but was denied by goalkeeper John Victor. In the period that followed, Forest continued to be mostly on the defensive, while Villa pressed without causing much danger. Then Watkins did better than his first attempt and redeemed Villa shortly before the half-time whistle: After his brilliant shot from the edge of the penalty area, the ball hit high under the crossbar and Victor didn’t look particularly good.
Shortly after the restart, the hosts seemed to have everything in order: John McGinn completed a combination with the second goal for the “Villans” (49th). Forest didn’t give up, ran faster at the hosts – and managed to catch up. Morgan Gibbs-White, beautifully sent down by Dilane Bakwa, lifted the ball into the goal next to the post (61′).
Nottingham keeper Victor on the wrong track
But Villa only needed a good ten minutes to restore the old distance – with the active help of Forest keeper Victor. He allowed himself a careless excursion far into the field – McGinn thanked him and scored his second goal from 25 meters into the empty goal (73′).
The game then more or less babbled towards the end. Coach Unai Emery’s team is back on the road to victory and remains a hot candidate in the fight for the Champions League places.