After Aston Villa defeated Nottingham Forest 4-2 to stay in fourth place in the Premier League, there are four things we learned from the game.
At Villa Park, Unai Emery’s team was back on the winning track after a superb first half of play. Ollie Watkins’ early goal and two braces from Douglas Luiz gave the home team a 3-0 lead.
But in the second half, Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal made it 3-2 after a careless set-piece. After then, Leon Bailey calmed everyone down with Villa’s fourth goal in a brilliant performance.
After the dust has settled, here are four things we discovered about the match that helped Villa win the Premier League in back-to-back games.
Leon Bailey continues to be exceptional
The winger had a great reputation when he initially joined Villa in 2021. But a lot of people would agree that it’s fair to say that his first two seasons didn’t exactly blow everyone away.
Bailey has been amazing since Emery joined the team. The winger’s play was solely responsible for Watkins’ goal. He practically gave the striker a gift with his quickness and brilliance in getting the ball into the box. Shortly after, he nearly scored a goal himself, forcing the custodian into a superb stop.
But the goal would come as he ended the match following a short spurt from Forest. Following Watkins’ effort, Bailey had a good opportunity to tuck the ball home and earn the goal that his efforts deserved.
He has already contributed an incredible 20 goals this season. More than any previous campaign, by far. I’m hoping that he will only become better.
Set pieces still an Aston Villa issue
Villa gave up a foolish goal just before the interval. With Forest scarcely able to put a glove on them, the hosts were cruising. However, Emery’s team gave up a very avoidable goal on a set piece at the last whistle.
Gibbs-White promptly made it 3-2 as a result, giving Forest some much-needed confidence heading into the second half. It is evident that all of this started with this set-piece, where Villa truly shot themselves in the foot.
Pau Torres’ fitness is the key for Aston Villa
Villa was the team that dominated the first half by a wide margin. One of Emery’s team’s best 45-minute efforts this season was that one. Forest was unable to stop them and only managed to tie the score at one through a set-piece.
But when Pau Torres left at halftime, the backline appeared to be a different team. Forest might have easily scored a third and only needed a few minutes to net a second. The absence of Torres at the back made the defence appear incredibly uneasy.
His health for the balance of the season may be crucial to Aston Villa’s Champions League qualifying. Torres is undoubtedly an important member of the Birmingham team, and Emery needs him to stay healthy for as long as possible.
Villa Park returns to winning ways
Villa Park has been essential to the team’s success this season thus far. After defeating Arsenal in December, the team achieved a record-breaking 15 home Premier League victories in a row.
But as the year began, gaps have appeared in Emery’s stronghold. Prior to the Forest match, Villa had not won at Villa Park in 2024 and had dropped their previous three games at home.
The pressure was on Villa to fix this issue as soon as possible as they approach the season’s business end, since the team was still working hard. And they succeeded in doing so, defeating Forest and pulling eight points clear of sixth-place Man United.
