Ollie Watkins continued his impressive return to form as Aston Villa powered past a mistake-ridden Nottingham Forest to stretch their remarkable home dominance in the Premier League.
The England forward found the net for the fourth time in his last three appearances, inspiring Villa to bounce back strongly from their recent defeat away at Arsenal. The win marked Villa’s 11th consecutive league victory at Villa Park, their best home run in 36 years.
John McGinn was central to the triumph, scoring twice as Unai Emery’s side surged up to second place in the league table, opening a 12-point gap over fifth-placed Chelsea. Nottingham Forest briefly threatened a comeback when Morgan Gibbs-White pulled one back, but the visitors were ultimately undone by costly errors.
Forest’s struggles continued as they suffered a fourth straight league loss for the first time in more than two years, a poor run that had already cost Steve Cooper his job earlier in the season.
Now managed by Sean Dyche, Forest sit just four points above the relegation zone and face a crucial trip to West Ham on Tuesday, where they will come up against former boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
Villa asserted control early on and could have taken the lead sooner if not for a fine save from Forest goalkeeper John Victor to deny Watkins. The breakthrough eventually arrived just before half-time when Watkins latched onto a pass from Morgan Rogers and rifled a composed effort from outside the box into the net.
Moments after the restart, McGinn doubled Villa’s advantage. Forest responded through Gibbs-White, who finished calmly to reduce the deficit, but any hopes of a comeback quickly evaporated. A major error from goalkeeper John left the goal exposed, and McGinn reacted quickest, striking into an empty net from 35 yards.
Watkins’ resurgence has reshaped a campaign that once appeared uncertain. He managed only one goal in his first 19 outings and was left out of England’s squad announced by Thomas Tuchel in November after withdrawing from October duty due to injury. Questions had been raised about his prospects of making the World Cup squad later in the year.
Those doubts are rapidly disappearing. The 30-year-old has now scored six goals in his last eight matches and marked his 250th appearance for Aston Villa with another influential performance. Since his arrival from Brentford in 2020, Watkins has consistently delivered goals and is once again rising to the occasion.
His partnership with Morgan Rogers continues to blossom. The pair combined for Villa’s opener and have now been directly involved in 10 Premier League goals together since the start of last season — more than any other duo in the division.
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