EPL: Aston Villa beats Nottingham Forest 2-1 to keep top four hope alive

Aston Villa held off a spirited fightback from Nottingham Forest to keep their Champions League ambitions on track.

Villa, currently sitting sixth in the Premier League table, appeared to be cruising early in the game.

They raced to a 2-0 advantage within just 15 minutes, thanks to swift strikes from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen.

Rogers opened the scoring with a calm one-on-one finish, before Malen doubled the lead moments later, expertly slotting home from close range after a precise cross from Ian Maatsen.

Forest, with their own Champions League qualification ambitions, cleared their heads after a dreadful start to play their way into the game and both Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi were only inches away before the break.

This season’s Premier League surprise package continued their improvement after the interval, getting their reward when substitute Jota Silva scored on the turn after 57 minutes.

Forest came close again as efforts from Elliot Anderson and Neco Williams were just wide, while Rogers almost put Villa out of sight after a superb solo run forced a fine save from keeper Matz Sels.

There was drama right to the end, as Forest’s Murillo crashed a long-range effort against the crossbar, then Sels denied substitute Marcus Rashford when he was clean through.

Villa’s win moved them to within one point of Chelsea in fourth place, while Forest remain in third despite this setback.