14 December 2024
Nott’m Forest 2 Aston Villa 1
Nottingham Forest welcomed an Aston Villa side to the City Ground who had been on a worse winless run than Man City. That takes some doing at the moment. However, a couple of victories had convinced all at Villa Park that their blip was over and it would be business as usual. Unaii Emery’s side are aiming for the top four again, however, nobody expected Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to be rivalling them.
One thing sides need to learn, do not take Nottingham Forest too lightly. Liverpool did and suffered their first defeat of the season, these two teams were level on points before kick-off. Football success tends to go around in cycles, Forest could argue their last one was more successful than most. They won two European Cups, something Man City still try to emulate.
The visitors had an away strip on that took you back in time. It looked a carbon copy of the Man Utd top from the late 90’s. As both sides seemed to cancel each other out in the first half, the quality of the football was poor. You could be forgiven for checking you did not have Championship highlights on by mistake. What we would give to see a youthful Lee Sharpe score in that kit like he used to.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side seemed to give the visitors too much respect from the kick-off. Ensuring that the whole team was behind the ball out of possession but when winning it back, having no out-ball whatsoever. They started to find their feet towards the end of the half and Yates had their first shot in anger at goal. Fortunately, the woman in row M was alert and caught it.
So far this season, Forest have shown their major strength, absorbing pressure and hitting sides with quick, one-touch passing transitions from defence to attack. They are good at it. Yet it relies on their passing game being spot on. In the first-half at the City Ground it was far from that. Gibbs-White was dropping too deep to keep the visitors out, it left Wood with no support at all.
Aston Villa looked in control of this game, despite being away from home. Rogers was the real dangerman for Emery ‘s side and he ghosted past Anderson into the box. He ended up in a heap on the floor, expecting to look up and see the referee pointing to the spot. Sadly for the travelling fans, he did not agree and nor did his mates in Stockley Park.
Anywhere else on the pitch that is a free-kick. VAR decided it was a ‘fleeting pull of the arm and not enough to prevent Rogers from continuing’. So it would seem fouls are cool now, as long as they are for not too long. Premier League footballers are their own worst enemies, they can make the slightest touch look like something that is Oscar-worthy.
On this occasion, it looked like a stonewall penalty. In added time, the Villans were awarded a free kick. It was lifted into the box and Konsa rose for a free header. He glanced it wide of the far post, so close that Sels had not moved at all. With Duran starting ahead of Watkins, you wondered whether there was an imbalance to the visitors attack.
As the sides headed into the break level, the visitors could feel aggrieved. Nuno Espirito Santo needed to wake his side up, they did not look like the team that has taken the league by storm this season. If they want to upset the apple cart at the top, consistency will be key this campaign. With results earlier in the day, this was a big chance for both teams to move into fourth.
Emi Martinez can divide a room. The self-proclaimed ‘best keeper in the world’ then made you wonder if you were the crazy one. As a corner came in, Dominguez had a free header from four yards out. According to the laws of physics, his effort was behind the Villa keeper and in. Somehow, he reacted like a cat to get a hand to it and claw it out of the goal. That may be the save of the season.
The game felt like it needed a goal to spark it into life. The visitors did just that as McGinn clipped a short cross to Duran in the box. His first-time header had enough power on it that it was past Sels before he could even react. It was no more than the visitors deserved, Forest had not turned up in this game at all, which felt worthy of a loss.
It is strange to see a team dominate a game and for no reason, in a matter of minutes, just go into their shell and look to see out the storm. For some reason. Aston Villa did this after Martinez made a smart save at the near post from Williams. It was a routine save for the Argentine but he loves to perform for the crowd and always makes it look far more than it was. Apart from that one earlier in the game of course, wow.
With under ten minutes remaining, Gibbs-White broke from his own half with the ball. He fed it out to Hudson-Odoi, who returned the favour. As the entire ground thought the midfielder was winding up to shoot, instead he played a deft pass to Elanga out wide. It took at least three Villa players out of the game. As the winger squared the ball, Wood slid in to equalise for the hosts.
After a long wait for a VAR review, standard vibes, the goal was ruled out. Elanga was a rizla paper ahead of his man. At this point, you felt it was to be Aston Villa’s day and who would rob them of that after going nine games without a win. They had seemed to have stockpiled some good karma that they were due for sure.
The hosts forced a corner late on in the game. It was headed clear but Forest recycled it well. Gibbs-White lifted a ball into the box and Milenkovic met it with a thunderous header. It was straight at Martinez however. Despite being the world’s best, he tried to catch it as it hit his chest and fumbled it over the line for an equaliser. Hero to zero in the space of twenty minutes.
Unai Emery’s side seemed like mentally, they were already on the bus. Cash was robbed of the ball and Anderson burst forward to the byline before cutting back into the box. Elanga arrived from deep to slot it past Martinez in the third minute of added time. The visitors’ manager could be seen punching the dugout as the goal went in. Huge win for the hosts, leapfrogging Man City in the table.
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