Aston Villa survived a late onslaught from Nottingham Forest to secure a 2-1 win at Villa Park.
First-half goals from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen were the difference in the Midlands, despite a spirited second-half fightback from the visitors, who pulled one back through substitute Jota Silva.
Villa raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 15 minutes. The opener came in the 13th minute when Youri Tielemans played a through-ball into the path of Rogers, who slotted past Matz Sels for his eighth goal of the season.
Just 138 seconds later, the hosts doubled their advantage. Ian Maatsen delivered a low cross from the left flank, which found Malen unmarked in the six-yard box for a simple tap-in.
Shell-shocked and disorganised, Forest struggled to mount a response in the first half, although they did occasionally threaten on the counter.
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga both came close with shots that fizzed narrowly wide, but Villa remained in control going into the break with a deserved 2-0 lead.
Three straight wins in the league ✊ #AVLNFO pic.twitter.com/UyZ2W7WLKs
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 5, 2025
Nuno Espirito Santo responded at the break by bringing on Jota Silva for Elanga.
The Portuguese winger made an immediate impact, halving the deficit in the 57th minute after Neco Williams delivered a dangerous cross from the left. Silva’s finish into the bottom-right corner gave Forest hope and shifted the momentum in their favour.
From that point, it was the visitors who looked the more likely to score. Villa’s early composure gave way to anxiety as Forest poured forward with renewed energy.
Hudson-Odoi and Williams both came close, while Anderson and Gibbs-White were constant threats in and around the box.
It was Villa’s goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, who became their saviour in the closing stages. First, he denied Silva with a reflex save from a close-range header, then watched gratefully as Murillo’s strike from the edge of the area clipped the crossbar in stoppage time.
Meanwhile, Sels also kept Forest in it with a series of superb stops, including a double save to thwart Rashford late on.
Despite Forest’s second-half surge, Villa held on to claim their seventh consecutive league win and move level on points with Manchester City.
For Forest, they remain third but have given City and Chelsea below them a chance to catch up across the rest of the weekend.
