ZeeboiNottingham Forest suffered a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa at Villa Park, with a chaotic two-minute spell proving decisive in dashing the Reds’ hopes of earning any points from the match.
Forest entered the game riding a wave of momentum, having secured three consecutive Premier League victories. They had previously overcome Manchester City, Ipswich, and Manchester United, establishing a seven-point cushion over the teams below them.
However, this loss could tighten the race, as Chelsea and Manchester City are set to play tomorrow, and Villa have now closed the gap to six points in the battle for a Champions League spot next season.
Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malan struck within two minutes of each other in the first half, creating a steep challenge for Forest. Jota Silva managed to pull one back in the second half, sparking a rally for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Alan Smith points the finger at one man for Nottingham Forest’s loss to Aston Villa:
The co-commentator praised Silva for his impact after coming off the bench but argued that the match’s outcome was heavily influenced by a tactical choice made by Espirito Santo in his lineup.
While the Forest manager has earned plenty of praise recently, Smith believes he made a critical error in his preparations for the Villa clash earlier this evening.
He said on Sky Sports: “You never quite know what he’s going to produce. It’s a lovely clean strike. They might just have given themselves too much to do. The back five backfired massively.”
Espirito Santo faces key choices ahead of the Everton clash:
Everton, currently enjoying good form under David Moyes, will present a tough challenge next weekend, though the match is certainly within Forest’s reach.
Espirito Santo will be hoping for the return of Ola Aina and Chris Wood for the upcoming fixture, as Taiwo Awoniyi was also absent from the squad that faced Aston Villa.
Should these players remain unavailable, Espirito Santo will need to reassess his options, particularly the decision to deploy a back five, which is now under scrutiny.
Forest can draw encouragement from their second-half display against Villa, and the focus now shifts to recovery and preparation for the upcoming battle against Everton next week.
Zeeboi
