- Nottingham Forest are now in the top four after Anthony Elanga’s late winner
- In a crucial match against Aston Villa, Nikola Milenkovic had bagged the leveller
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Champions League football is what Aston Villa’s billionaire owners crave every year but their efforts in this season’s competition may hand Nottingham Forest a route into the next one.
Late goals from Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga mean Villa have won only one of their six matches that have followed Champions League fixtures this term. In a top-four race that promises to be agonisingly tight, that could be the difference. Forest pulled out a three-point gap on Villa and are dreaming of 1979 and 1980, when they won back-to-back European Cups under Brian Clough.
Villa led through Jhon Duran’s second-half header but after a close VAR call had denied Chris Wood an equaliser, Milenkovic and Elanga stepped up to seal it.
The visitors looked drained by the end. Their final Champions League group games in January against Monaco and Celtic will determine whether Villa qualify automatically for the last 16 or tackle two extra matches in the play-off round. It now feels vital they seal a top-eight spot.
Villa boss Unai Emery rarely criticises officials but was furious that Morgan Rogers was denied a penalty in the first-half when he was pulled back by Elliot Anderson. ‘It was a clear penalty,’ he insisted. ‘I always respect the referee but where was the VAR? It’s a big mistake.
‘Playing in the Champions League is not an excuse (for poor results after midweek games). In the last 20 minutes, we lost a bit of the mentality we showed in the first 70. We had to stick to our plan and we did not.’
Anthony Elanga sealed a stoppage-time winner to send Nottingham Forest fourth in the table
Nikola Milenkovic headed in from Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross to kickstart the comeback
Jhon Duran had given Villa the lead, which they held until the 87th minute, with his 11th goal of the season
Villa preferred Jhon Duran to Ollie Watkins and lost Tyrone Mings to illness in the warm-up, yet Forest started like a side playing for a 0-0 draw and Elliot Anderson was lucky not to concede a penalty when he grabbed Morgan Rogers’ arm as the Villa man surged through.
Last time Villa played here, Emi Martinez’s howler gifted Forest a goal – and how he made up for it on the hour mark with a stunning instinctive stop to keep out Nicolas Dominguez’s close-range header. It proved a turning point because soon afterwards John McGinn’s excellent cross was headed home by Duran.
Martinez was back in action soon afterwards with a sharp stop from Neco Williams which he could not have seen until the last second. And when he was finally beaten fortune came to Villa’s rescue again.
Forest leapfrogged Manchester City as their fine form continued with a win at home
Villa were left forlorn at full time after failing to hang on to a much-needed three points
Elanga came off the bench and managed to squeeze his effort past Emiliano Martinez
Forest had their initial equaliser from Chris Wood scrubbed off by VAR but responded valiantly
Morgan Gibbs-White played the pass of the game to send in Elanga and Chris Wood was there to slide from close range only for the line-drawers in Stockley Park to intervene. ‘After that moment, I thought the game was over,’ admitted Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo. ‘But the reaction was good. We have to clear plans to build and improve the team and it’s about enjoyment. We have given them an extra day off after that.’
Forest levelled when Gibbs-White delivered a perfect cross and Milenkovic outjumped Boubacar Kamara and powered in a header that was too hot for Martinez to handle.
Villa fell apart in stoppage time as Anderson robbed Matty Cash and turned the ball across for substitute Elanga to finish at the far post.