Aston Villa fell to a 2-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, as a disappointing and frustrating performance was punished by the hosts at the City Ground.
Villa conceded early in both halves as Ola Aina and Orel Mangala sealed the three points for Forest, and despite dominating possession and creating openings for the last half hour or so, our decision-making in the final third and finishing was poor.
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In turn, it ends a positive run of form, with Unai Emery undoubtedly left disappointed by the manner of the goals conceded and how we were unable to execute our gameplan effectively enough.
Villa’s focus now switches to the Europa Conference League in midweek before hosting Fulham next weekend, and so a strong response will be needed to ensure we finish on a positive note ahead of the international break.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Nottingham Forest:
Emiliano Martinez, 5 – Will know himself that his effort to prevent the second goal wasn’t good enough, and that was a crucial turning point in the game. Little he could have done for the first with poor defending in front of him coupled with a good finish.
Matty Cash, 6 – Much of our dangerous play went down the left side, but he showed good energy to get up and down the right flank, albeit without being decisive at either end. Like many, under-par display, before coming off with a knock.
Ezri Konsa, 6.5 – Defended well throughout as he marshalled the backline and intervened when needed. Forest were quiet aside from their goals as they weren’t given the chance to trouble Martinez.
Pau Torres, 6.5 – Similar to Konsa from a defensive perspective in that he helped nullify Forest’s threat through the middle. Showed glimpses of his quality in possession, but was unable to help find a breakthrough this time round.
Lucas Digne, 6 – Got into good positions in advanced areas to provide width and a dangerous outlet as there was plenty of space on our left side. However, his final ball deserted him as he was wasteful with his deliveries.
John McGinn, 6 – Battling performance in midfield to help us control possession, but lacked the quality we’ve seen from him this season to unlock the Forest defence with his passing into the final third. That in turn was a key factor in our struggles to find a breakthrough.
Boubacar Kamara, 6 – Made a number of important tackles and interceptions, and continues to show his tactical versatility by slotting into a right-back role for most of the game. That said, given he was sitting deeper, wasn’t able to have as much of an influence on our build-up play.
Douglas Luiz, 6 – A steady shift as usual even when he isn’t at his decisive best, as he continued to set the tempo and keep us ticking in midfield in our attempts to find a way back into the encounter.
Nicolo Zaniolo, 5.5 – Continues to get into good positions by finding pockets of space in the final third to provide a threat, but still not able to produce that killer touch in front of goal. Replaced at half-time, and so it’s really hoped that he can break his duck sooner rather than later so that his barren run doesn’t continue to drag on.
Moussa Diaby, 6 – Always the concern that he might not be as effective when teams sit deeper and don’t allow him space in behind, and it was felt that he could have been utilised in wider areas. Nevertheless, his decision-making also let him down as he had a couple of dangerous openings in and around the box, but couldn’t produce a decisive contribution.
Ollie Watkins, 6 – Similar to Diaby in that they were limited by Forest’s defensive set-up, and so that’s something for Emery to analyse and find solutions for. However, he did have one big chance in the second half that he had to do better with, and it was another key moment in the game that could have swung the momentum firmly in our favour even at 2-0 down.
Substitutes:
Leon Bailey, 5.5 – Provided a more direct threat down the right side with his running and skill, but was unable to find a way through as he often lost possession and stifled our momentum as moves broke down.
Youri Tielemans, 6 – Added composure and control in midfield with his passing and technical ability, but without ever really showing he could influence the game in a more decisive way.
Diego Carlos, N/A
Leander Dendoncker, N/A
