Aston Villa player ratings after they held off a Nottingham Forest comeback to win 4-2 and returned to winning ways at Villa Park.
Villa made it back-to-back wins as they saw off Forest to remain fourth in the Premier League. Douglas Luiz netted twice in between goals from Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey.
Unai Emery’s side were cruising and went 3-0 up at one stage. However, nerves began to emerge when Forest brought it back to 3-2 just after half-time. However, Bailey would net Villa’s fourth to settle the tie and put the Birmingham side in full control once again.
Bailey was Villa’s key man in the tie as he dominated the pitch and collected an assist on top of his goal. Here, you can read the ratings of every Villa player as they return to winning ways at Villa Park.
GK – Emi Martinez – 6/10
Didn’t really have much to do but conceded twice. Another game without a clean sheet for the ‘keeper who will be desperate for one now.
RB – Matty Cash – 7/10
The right-back was instrumental to the second goal as he looked to beat the defender before sending the ball into Jacob Ramsey. Cash was exceptional in the first half, becoming one of the key players behind Villa’s dominance.
CB – Clement Lenglet – 6/10
Didn’t look too confident at times. He along with the rest of the backline almost threw away a three-goal lead when the hosts started the second half slowly. Villa almost conceded a third from another set piece in the second half when he lost track of the Forest player who missed a sitter.
CB – Pau Torres – 7/10
Torres once again showed how important he is to Villa. Despite only playing 45 minutes, the visitors only had one chance, which came once again from a set piece. Yet, as soon as he departed at half-time, Forest scored after easily breaking through their backline. Torres’ fitness could well be the most important aspect of Villa’s Champions League qualification race.
LB – Alex Moreno – 6/10
Wasn’t his best game as he was part of the defence that conceded twice. At the start of the second half, the backline seemed to lose all composure including Moreno who was then booked before coming off shortly after.
RM – Leon Bailey – 9/10
Bailey started phenomenally. The winger was causing Forest all kinds of problems from the get-go and produced a moment of magic to get a quick assist. His skill and pace to cut inside was incredible before he delivered a gift to Watkins to get the opener.
He then settled the nerves of Villa fans as he tapped home the hosts fourth to make it 4-2 and give them some breathing room once again.
Bailey could have collected another assist with 10 minutes to go as he played a wonderful ball into the box. However, Ramsey couldn’t get the shot away.
CM – John McGinn – 8/10
Alongside Douglas Luiz, McGinn ran the show in the midfield. The Scotsman cut out everything and allowed Villa to continue to recycle their attacks, putting enormous pressure on Forest, especially in the first half.
His creativity was also on show as he delivered a pinpoint cross to Douglas Luiz to help put Villa 3-0 up.
CM – Douglas Luiz – 9/10
Back-to-back goals at Villa Park for Douglas Luiz and another two fantastic finishes from the midfielder. It fully put Villa in the driving seat in the first half as he dominated the midfield. It was an excellent finish into the corner for his first.
The midfielder soon netted again as he headed in from a wonderful cross from McGinn to put Villa 3-0 up. Unfortunately, he could not get his hat-trick in the second half.
LM – Jacob Ramsey – 7/10
A nice assist for Ramsey to add to his collection as he played the ball to Douglas Luiz for Villa’s second. He was a solid player throughout and his attacking play against Forest should give up confidence.
ST – Ollie Watkins – 7/10
The striker was given a gift early on thanks to Bailey. His cross put the ball on a plate for Watkins who made no mistake to give Villa an early lead. Arguably should have netted again when Tielemans played him through. However, it did not matter as the ball fell to Bailey to slot home the fourth.
ST – Youri Tielemans – 7/10
Almost settled Villa’s nerves at the start of the second half as he rifled the ball off the post at 3-2. Tielemans should have scored with it being a massive opportunity for the side. However, he made up for it as he played a brilliant through ball to Watkins which directly led to Villa’s fourth.
Sub – Callum Chambers – 6/10
Looked nervy when coming on after Forest netted mere minutes into the second half. However, he settled into the game and played well in the last 10 minutes when the visitors were pushing for a third.
Sub – Lucas Digne – 6/10
Helped see out the win.
Sub – Nicolò Zaniolo – 6/10
Didn’t have time to make an impact.
Sub – Morgan Rogers – 6/10
Didn’t have time to make an impact.
Sub – Moussa Diaby – 6/10
Didn’t have time to make an impact.
