Aston Villa continue top four march after demolishing Nottingham Forest
This Midlands battle began as one-sided as it could be, as the hosts dominated the first period with ease.
First they raced into a fourth-minute lead via the right boot of Ollie Watkins, grabbing his fifth strike in his last five appearances.
Initial good work along the right flank saw Leon Bailey get a slice of luck dribbling beyond Murillo, but that was all he needed to tee up his striker for a simple tap-in on the goal line.
This was followed up by a brace from Douglas Luiz - his eighth and ninth goals of the campaign, all of which have come at Villa Park.
The first here was a product of unselfish work from Jacob Ramsey, who passed off to his team-mate instead of taking it on himself for another close-range finish, then the second was headed in from an inch-perfect John McGinn cross. 39 minutes were on the clock and it already seemed done and dusted for UEFA Champions League-chasing Villa.
However, a change of pace out of nowhere proved Forest were down but certainly not out. Deep into first-half stoppage time Moussa Niakhaté pulled one back, bundling the ball across the line without the use of his arm, as confirmed by VAR, from a corner.
This crumb of hope was enough for the previously disheartened Nuno Espírito Santo to work with at HT and his changes during the break spring-boarded his team to bring themselves within one goal of their opponents no more than three minutes after the restart.
Freshly introduced, Divock Origi placed his pass with precision to beat Villa’s offside trap, allowing Morgan Gibbs-White the freedom of the penalty area to slot past Emiliano Martínez.
All momentum was with the visitors and now the question was whether they could complete a daring upset. Ultimately though, there is a long list of reasons the Reds are embroiled in the ongoing relegation battle, and their record of only two away victories in total throughout the campaign is a glaring one.
All of their hard work was thrown away with under half an hour remaining when Watkins outmuscled Andrew Omobamidele.
Matz Sels came rushing out and the No.11 returned the favour to Bailey from the opener, the winger slotting into an empty net. From there Villa were able to see out the match, ensuring their place in the top four remains intact.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)
