Forest beat Villa with late winner to give Glasner first victory in charge
Nottingham Forest claimed their first win under Oliver Glasner with a 2-1 Premier League victory over Aston Villa, ending a long wait for an away win against Villa in any competition.
Forest had gone five matches without a victory since Glasner took charge, but a late goal from substitute Igor Jesus gave them the three points. It was Forest’s first away win over Villa since 1994.
Match highlight
Villa came into the game after their first European win of the season in midweek and hoped that result would spark an improvement in the league. They had the first chance after seven minutes, when Forest failed to clear a corner. Victor Lindelof met the loose ball with a volley, but Matz Sels made an excellent close-range save.
Clear chances were scarce in the first half. That was no surprise, with both sides having scored only two league goals across their opening three matches. Villa’s frustration grew in the 25th minute when Pau Torres was forced off injured.
The match came alive immediately after the break.
Only a minute into the second half, summer signing Liam Delap scored his first Forest goal. He received the ball around 25 yards from goal, drove forward and struck a powerful shot into the bottom-left corner. Zion Suzuki had no chance.
Forest took control after the breakthrough and should have doubled their lead. Dan Ndoye headed over from a promising position, while Delap had another finish ruled out for offside after beating Lindelof.
Unai Emery turned to his bench in search of a response, handing debuts to Johan Manzambi and Ibrahim Mbaye. The two substitutes combined quickly and gave Villa some energy, but Mbaye could not finish Manzambi’s pass.
The changes still shifted the momentum. Villa equalised through another substitute, Alysson, who met John McGinn’s cross with a fine header into the bottom-right corner. It was Villa’s first league goal of the season.
Delap remained Forest’s biggest threat and went close again with a shot from outside the area. Villa did not deal with the warning. After using all their substitutions, they were reduced to 10 men when Ian Maatsen left the pitch injured.
Forest made the advantage count late on. Morgan Gibbs-White pulled the ball back for Igor Jesus, who placed a composed finish into the left corner for his first goal of the season.
The late strike earned Forest a deserved first win under Glasner, who remains unbeaten in eight matches as a manager against Villa. Villa, meanwhile, remain in the relegation zone after a third consecutive home defeat.
