Midfielder shines, and Aston Villa overcomes Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

John McGinn scored twice in the Villans’ victory.

Aston Villa defeated Nottingham Forest 3-1 in a match valid for the 20th round of the  Premier League , this Saturday (3), at Villa Park, in Birmingham (ENG). With a great goal from Ollie Watkins and two from John McGinn, the Villans recovered in the competition and secured their 12th victory in 13 games. The visiting team’s goal was scored by Morgan Gibbs-White.

With this result, Aston Villa reached 42 points, in second place in the Premier League, three less than the leader Arsenal. Forest is 17th, with 18 points, four more than West Ham, the first team in the relegation zone.

At home, Aston Villa controlled possession in the early stages, with almost 85% possession after 10 minutes, but couldn’t break through Forest’s defensive block. On the other side, Nottingham relied on counter-attacks and almost opened the scoring with Omari Hutchinson’s shot from outside the area, but Dibu Martínez made the save.

In stoppage time, Ollie Watkins received the ball near Morgan Rodgers’ penalty area, turned and shot into the top corner past Brazilian goalkeeper John to open the scoring for Aston Villa. The striker reached his fourth goal in three consecutive Premier League games.

Upon returning from halftime, Aston Villa scored their second goal just three minutes in. From a low cross by Matty Cash, John McGinn volleyed the ball past John from the edge of the box to extend the lead. Down by two goals, Nottingham Forest began to show more attacking presence and, in a breakaway down the right, Dilane Bakwa launched a pass to Morgan Gibbs-White, who broke free and, one-on-one with Dibu Martínez, chipped the ball over the goalkeeper to reduce the deficit to 2-1.

With Forest pushing forward more, Aston Villa managed to find more space in their opponent’s defense. Following a long pass from Youri Tielemans, McGinn anticipated John’s movement and, from midfield, finished into the empty net to score the Villans’ third goal of the match. During the play, the Brazilian goalkeeper was injured and replaced by Matz Sels. In the end, the Birmingham team secured a 3-1 victory.

Aston Villa will face Tottenham next on Saturday (10), at 2:45 pm, Brasilia time, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in a match valid for the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Nottingham Forest, in turn, will face Wrexham, on Friday (9), at 4:30 pm, at Racecourse Ground, also for the FA Cup.