Aston Villa secured a vital 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest, extending their winning streak to seven consecutive matches across all competitions. Early goals from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen in the first 15 minutes proved decisive, despite Jota Silva pulling one back for Forest in the second half.
The win strengthens Villa’s position in the Premier League as they continue their push for Champions League qualification for a second consecutive season. Currently sitting sixth in the table, level on points with fifth-placed Manchester City but behind on goal difference, Unai Emery’s side is building momentum at a crucial stage of the season.
This victory comes at an ideal time as Villa prepare for their biggest European fixture in over four decades – a Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain. Not since their European Cup quarter-final against Juventus in 1982 has the club faced such a significant continental challenge.
Despite making eight changes to his starting lineup with the PSG match in mind, Emery’s rotation policy paid off as Villa started brilliantly. Rogers opened the scoring with a confident finish through the goalkeeper’s legs after a clever pass from Youri Tielemans, while Malen doubled the advantage just over two minutes later, converting Ian Maatsen’s cross.
Forest, hampered by injuries to strikers Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi, showed resilience and created numerous chances to equalize. Their persistence was rewarded when Jota converted Neco Williams’ cross in the 57th minute. The visitors came agonizingly close to leveling the score in the dying moments when Murillo’s 30-yard strike clipped the crossbar.
The result leaves Forest still pursuing their own European ambitions, while Villa now turn their attention to Wednesday’s showdown in Paris with renewed confidence.
