Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 at Villa Park on Saturday to bounce back from their midweek loss to Arsenal and move up to second place in the Premier League.
The win also saw Nigerian defender Ola Aina return to action for Forest.
Ollie Watkins gave Villa a deserved lead just before half-time after a dominant opening spell by the hosts. The striker fired home from outside the box for his fourth goal in three games.
John McGinn doubled Villa’s advantage early in the second half, side-footing into the net in the 49th minute after a cross from Matty Cash.
Forest reduced the deficit in the 61st minute through Morgan Gibbs-White, who calmly chipped the ball over goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to give the visitors hope.
However, Villa restored their two-goal lead in the 73rd minute after a costly mistake by Forest goalkeeper John Victor, who rushed out of his area unnecessarily. McGinn kept his composure, went past the keeper and rolled the ball into the empty net from distance.
The victory eased the pressure on Unai Emery’s side following their 4-1 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday and extended their impressive home form, with Villa now winning 11 straight matches at Villa Park since August.
Villa moved to 42 points, three behind leaders Arsenal and one ahead of Manchester City.
Nottingham Forest remain just above the relegation zone, four points clear of West Ham, as their struggles continued.
