January 03, (THEWILL) — Aston Villa closed the gap between them and English Premier League leaders, Arsenal, after defeating Nottingham Forest 3-1 at home on Saturday. Unai Emery’s side bounced back from their recent loss to the title rivals with a convincing performance that saw Ollie Watkins and captain John McGinn find the net.
Watkins opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time, firing home from the edge of the box after receiving Morgan Rogers’ pass. The striker had earlier squandered a golden opportunity from just six yards out in the second minute, but his powerful finish gave Villa a deserved lead at the break.
McGinn doubled the advantage four minutes into the second half, converting Matty Cash’s inviting cutback into the roof of the net. Forest responded just after the hour when Morgan Gibbs-White dinked the ball over Emiliano Martinez for his 50th goal involvement in the competition, threatening to set up a tense finish.
However, Forest goalkeeper, John Victor’s moment of madness killed off any hopes of a comeback. Caught off his line in the 73rd minute, Victor could only watch McGinn finish Youri Tielemans’ long ball into an empty net from distance for his second of the match and first EPL brace.
Gibbs-White attempted to force a nervy ending with a long-range effort, but Martinez made the save to deny the Forest midfielder. The victory keeps Villa firmly in the title conversation and maintains pressure on Arsenal at the top of the table.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
