Aston Villa proved their hunger to qualify for the Champions League as a scintillating attacking display earned all three points against Nottingham Forest, says winger Leon Bailey.
A breathtaking first-half saw Villa race into a 3-0 lead at Villa Park and ultimately saw them bounce back from successive home defeats.
They took the lead in the fourth minute with Ollie Watkins tapping in his 14th Premier League goal of the season after brilliant work down the right by Bailey.
Douglas Luiz then scored twice in 10 minutes, first slotting home a Jacob Ramsey cut-back in the 29th minute, before heading in John McGinn’s right-wing cross.
Moussa Niakhate chested home his first Forest goal in first-half stoppage-time, before Morgan Gibbs-White dinked over the advancing Emi Martinez three minutes after the break.
Bailey secured the three points for the hosts, tapping into a vacant net after Watkins’ effort was saved following Forest losing the ball high up in their own half.
The result sees fourth-placed Villa open a five-point lead on Tottenham, who are not in action this weekend, and a eight-point gap to sixth-placed Manchester United, who lost 2-1 against Fulham at Old Trafford.
“That [the top four] is the goal for us,” Bailey told BBC Match of the Day. “We want to be in the Champions League next season.
“The key is to be consistent and take it step by step.”
Villa boss Unai Emery was more cautious though, telling Sky Sports: “It is still the same, if we arrive to game 33 in the same position we maybe look to Champions League; for now it is about being in the top seven positions. We have to always be positive, and focus on each match.”
Emery’s side moved 15 points clear of eighth-placed Newcastle, who can close the gap when they visit Arsenal at 20:00 GMT on Saturday.
Forest remain 16th, four points clear of the relegation zone.
Villa get home form back on track
Villa’s charge into the Champions League places – and as possible title contenders a few weeks ago – has been based around an exemplary home record that saw them go 17 games unbeaten, winning 16.
Their slight drop-off in recent weeks has coincided with that run ending with successive defeats by Newcastle and Manchester United.
This win was earned in a rip-roaring opening half an hour where they consistently caused issues down their right wing.
The opener saw Bailey nip past Murillo, with his cross nutmegging Felipe and put on a plate for Watkins to tap home.
Both of Luiz’s goals came down the same side, with Ramsey showing brilliant composure to pick out the Brazil midfielder and McGinn’s cross pinpoint.
The three first-half goals mean Villa have now scored a league-high 27 in the opening period this season.
Emery will be disappointed by both of the goals they conceded, with Niakhete and Gibbs-White allowed unchallenged efforts on their goal.
However, with Europa Conference League football on the horizon again in a fortnight, he will be grateful for the gap his side are opening on their challengers.
“It was very important,” Emery told Match of the Day.
“We adapted well at Sheffield United and Fulham after defeats at home, but we needed confidence here and a reaction. We are feeling very comfortable and confident at Villa Park.
“We played a really fantastic match in the first half and only the first 15 minutes of the second half we had some doubts, but we stayed calm and reacted well.”
Enforced change sees Forest exploited
Forest had picked up 10 points from the first eight games of Nuno Espirito Santo’s tenure but they were blown away by Villa here.
They were forced into one change from their win over West Ham last weekend with Nuno Tavares missing out through injury, and Villa duly exploited centre-back Niakhete playing at left-back.
He was often out of position, dragging centre-backs Murillo and Felipe, who were both booked in the first half, wider.
Nuno was clearly furious with his side’s first-half display, opting to make a triple switch at the break, and his team were better in the second period.
At 3-2 Forest had a big chance to equalise when Anthony Elanga went through on goal but dragged his effort wide of the target.
Bailey’s goal came from efficient Villa pressing.
Forest have now scored 17 Premier League goals in Nuno’s time in charge – the same as in the first 17 games of the season under Steve Cooper – and that is a positive heading into the final stretch of the season.
However, their Premier League status may well depend on the outcome of the charge against the club for alleged breaches of profit and sustainability rules in their accounts for 2022-23.
“We started very bad, we conceded too easily. This is something we have to improve,” Nuno told Match of the Day.
“It is too easy for the opponent to score. We are always able to score, so we need to balance these two parts of the game.”
Player of the match
WatkinsOllie Watkins
Aston Villa
-
Squad number11Player nameWatkins
-
Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
-
Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
-
Squad number31Player nameBailey
-
Squad number41Player nameJ Ramsey
-
Squad number19Player nameDiaby
-
Squad number27Player nameRogers
-
Squad number14Player nameP Torres
-
Squad number22Player nameZaniolo
-
Squad number8Player nameTielemans
-
Squad number12Player nameDigne
-
Squad number2Player nameCash
-
Squad number15Player nameÃlex Moreno
-
Squad number1Player nameE MartÃnez
-
Squad number17Player nameLenglet
-
Squad number16Player nameChambers
Nottingham Forest
-
Squad number27Player nameOrigi
-
Squad number10Player nameGibbs-White
-
Squad number32Player nameOmobamidele
-
Squad number14Player nameHudson-Odoi
-
Squad number15Player nameToffolo
-
Squad number9Player nameAwoniyi
-
Squad number7Player nameN Williams
-
Squad number21Player nameElanga
-
Squad number28Player nameDanilo
-
Squad number16Player nameDomÃnguez
-
Squad number19Player nameNiakhaté
-
Squad number20Player nameReyna
-
Squad number40Player nameMurillo
-
Squad number18Player nameFelipe
-
Squad number26Player nameSels
-
Squad number22Player nameYates
Line-ups
Aston Villa
Formation 4-4-2
- 1E MartÃnez
- 2Cash
- 17Lenglet
- 14P TorresSubstituted forChambersat 45′minutes
- 15MorenoBooked at 57minsSubstituted forDigneat 59′minutes
- 31BaileySubstituted forDiabyat 90+2′minutes
- 7McGinn
- 6Douglas Luiz
- 41J Ramsey
- 8TielemansSubstituted forZanioloat 82′minutes
- 11WatkinsSubstituted forRogersat 90+2′minutes
Substitutes
- 12Digne
- 16Chambers
- 18Gauci
- 19Diaby
- 22Zaniolo
- 25Olsen
- 27Rogers
- 29Kesler-Hayden
- 47Iroegbunam
Nottm Forest
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 26Sels
- 7N Williams
- 18FelipeBooked at 45minsSubstituted forOmobamideleat 45′minutes
- 40Santiago Costa dos SantosBooked at 15minsSubstituted forToffoloat 45′minutes
- 19Niakhaté
- 16DomÃnguezSubstituted forYatesat 73′minutes
- 28Danilo
- 21Elanga
- 10Gibbs-WhiteSubstituted forReynaat 81′minutes
- 14Hudson-Odoi
- 9AwoniyiSubstituted forOrigiat 45′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Turner
- 8Kouyaté
- 15Toffolo
- 20Reyna
- 22Yates
- 27Origi
- 29Montiel
- 32Omobamidele
- 37Duarte Ribeiro
Live Text
-
Match ends, Aston Villa 4, Nottingham Forest 2.
-
Second Half ends, Aston Villa 4, Nottingham Forest 2.
-
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Harry Toffolo.
-
Attempt blocked. Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nicolò Zaniolo.
-
Substitution, Aston Villa. Morgan Rogers replaces Ollie Watkins.
-
Substitution, Aston Villa. Moussa Diaby replaces Leon Bailey.
-
Lucas Digne (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
-
Foul by Giovanni Reyna (Nottingham Forest).
-
Foul by Matty Cash (Aston Villa).
-
Callum Hudson-Odoi (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
-
Attempt missed. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right.
-
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Andrew Omobamidele.
-
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Ryan Yates.
-
Attempt blocked. Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
-
John McGinn (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
-
Foul by Callum Hudson-Odoi (Nottingham Forest).
-
Attempt blocked. Leon Bailey (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
-
Substitution, Aston Villa. Nicolò Zaniolo replaces Youri Tielemans.
-
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Giovanni Reyna replaces Morgan Gibbs-White.
-
Clément Lenglet (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.