Aston Villa's difficult start to the Premier League season continued as Nottingham Forest came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory at Villa Park, leaving Unai Emery's side with three defeats from their opening four fixtures.
Defender Tyrone Mings' visible dejection at the final whistle captured the mood around the club, with questions mounting over a summer rebuild that has yet to bear fruit. Villa did at least end a lengthy scoring drought stretching back 372 Premier League minutes, but the result did little to ease growing concerns.
Forest struck early in the second half through Liam Delap, who found the net just 45 seconds after the restart. Villa responded through substitute Alysson, who headed home his first goal since arriving in English football, meeting a cross from John McGinn against the run of play. However, Igor Jesus proved decisive with two minutes remaining, capitalising on a mistake from Aaron Wan-Bissaka to hand Forest their first win at Villa Park since 1994.
Oliver Glasner's side finished with 22 shots and 32 touches inside the Villa box, underlining their dominance for large periods. Villa's task was made harder when left-back Ian Maatsen was forced off with an ankle injury following a challenge from Forest's James McAtee, reducing the hosts to ten men after Emery had already used his substitutes. There are concerns the injury could sideline Maatsen for an extended period, potentially accelerating a debut for summer signing Matteo Ruggeri.
Emery was scathing about the officiating surrounding the incident. "After watching it on TV, I think the VAR should call the referee because it's a clear tackle behind the player and, for me, it should be a red card," he said. He drew a comparison with an earlier fixture at Brighton, adding: "We finished the match in Brighton, two yellow cards for Joao Gomes, and we accepted it. But today, after the injury of Maatsen, we're finishing with 10."
Despite his frustration with the decision, the Spaniard was careful not to use it as a blanket excuse for his team's performance. "It's not an excuse how we play the second half. We played so, so poor, and this is our work and our responsibility, or my responsibility," he admitted.
Villa's defensive issues were compounded by an early substitution for centre-back Pau Torres, while new arrival Taylor Harwood-Bellis was again left out of the matchday squad entirely. Nicolas Jackson was withdrawn at half-time after picking up a first-half yellow card, with Emery wary of the risk of a second dismissal, paving the way for Tammy Abraham—a player the manager had been willing to sell during the summer—to come on. Substitutes Johan Manzambi and Ibrahim Mbaye, signed for a combined £98m, made their first appearances for the club but could not influence the outcome. Alejandro Garnacho remained an unused option from the bench.
The defeat extends a troubling pattern at Villa Park, where the club has now lost four of their last 17 home league matches dating back to a shock loss to Crystal Palace last August. That run has included a cup exit to Newcastle and this season's opening home losses to both Arsenal and Forest. Emery pointed to squad turnover and reduced capacity due to the North Stand redevelopment as contributing factors, but conceded he was struggling to explain his team's inability to see out matches.
"I don't know why," he said. "I want to see the match again and to understand why we lost our shape."
Villa now turn their attention to a Carabao Cup tie away at Coventry City before a Premier League trip to face Tottenham Hotspur, with Emery under increasing pressure to find solutions quickly.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.