Aston Villa continued their impressive form at Villa Park after beating Nottingham Forest 4-2 on Saturday in the Premier League.
Villa made a great start to the game when Ollie Watkins scored from close range with a simple tap-in. Watkins is enjoying a great campaign and he has now scored his 14th goal in the Premier League.
Douglas Luiz scored twice and Leon Bailey scored another to earn Villa all three precious points. In between Forest made the game interesting when Moussa Niakhate pulled one back in the first half, and Morgan Gibbs-White added another immediately after the break.
The visitors could have got 3-3, but Bailey killed the competition with the fourth goal for Villa. Stan Collymore was heavily impressed by three players and praised them on X after the game.
The likes of Luiz, Bailey and McGinn all have been superb for Villa, and Collymore hailed the later duo as “outstanding”.
“Great performance with Luiz, Bailey and McGinn outstanding. Credit to Forest, from nowhere could have got to 3-3 in the blink of an eye. Safe travels home, Trickies, we’ll meet again at Villa Park and the City Ground next season. Count on it,” wrote Collymore on X.
Aston Villa keep Champions League hopes alive
The victory means Villa are now three points behind Arsenal – who will face Newcastle on Saturday – but they are unlikely to challenge for the title.
However, Unai Emery’s side are very much in the mix to qualify for next season’s Champions League. With the victory, Villa have opened a five-point lead on Tottenham who won’t play this weekend.
Most importantly, they have taken a healthy eight-point lead on Manchester United who lost 2-1 against Fulham at Old Trafford.
Villa have been outstanding at Villa Park this season, but they stuttered a bit recently when they lost against Newcastle and Manchester United. Luiz and Bailey have been superb during the game, but the injury to Pau Torres could come as a blow.
