Nottingham Forest snatched a dramatic late victory at Villa Park, beating Aston Villa 2-1 with a stoppage-time goal from Igor Jesus that condemned Unai Emery's side to a fourth successive winless start to the Premier League season.
Oliver Glasner's summer recruits made an immediate impact in only his first win since taking charge of Forest. New striker Liam Delap opened his account for the club just 45 seconds into the second half, cutting inside from the right before unleashing a powerful shot from 25 yards that flew past the Villa goalkeeper. The goal followed a swift Forest move in which Murillo dispossessed Emiliano Buendía after Boubacar Kamara's flick, allowing Delap to run at the Villa defense.
Villa, who had struggled to create clear chances for much of the contest, hit back through Tammy Abraham's half-time replacement Alysson, who headed home from John McGinn's clever cross following a short corner routine. Before that equalizer, Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels had produced two smart saves to deny Victor Lindelöf, whose only previous league goal came back in November 2023, while Murillo had also struck his own post attempting to clear.
The match turned on a pivotal moment midway through the closing stages when Ian Maatsen was forced off with an injury after a challenge from Forest's James McAtee. With Emery having already used all five of his substitutions by the 63rd minute, Villa had no way to replace their full-back, and John McGinn was pushed into an unfamiliar left-back role for the remainder of the game, including six minutes of stoppage time.
Emery was furious that McAtee escaped without a card for the tackle, insisting the video assistant referee should have intervened. "It's a clear tackle behind the player and, for me, it should be a red card," the Spaniard said. "But it's not an excuse for how we played the second half. We played so poorly and this is my responsibility."
Villa had already been disrupted earlier in the game when Pau Torres was withdrawn with a hamstring injury that could keep him out for around a month, with Tyrone Mings coming on to fill the gap. Mings later made a crucial block to deny Dan Ndoye, who had earlier suffered a facial injury following a first-half collision with Maatsen.
With the game seemingly heading toward a draw, Forest found a winner in stoppage time. New signing Daniel Muñoz combined with Morgan Gibbs-White, who danced past three Villa defenders with an outrageous flick before finding Igor Jesus with a delightful backheel. The Brazilian striker calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Zion Suzuki's opposite number to complete the turnaround, extending Glasner's remarkable unbeaten record against Emery to eight matches, having now won six and drawn two of their previous meetings.
Glasner reflected on the rivalry with a touch of humor after the match. "I spoke to him before the game and it's still 5-2 for him, five European trophies to two," he said. "So I said to myself: 'Oliver Glasner, stay humble.' And this is how I will stay. The players deserve all the credit, because they did so well, and our fans deserve credit because they supported us, and so now we all go back and will have a lovely Saturday evening."
For Villa, the result leaves them still searching for their first league win of the campaign, mirroring their sluggish start from a year ago. Emery's side will need to regroup quickly, with injuries to key players like Torres and Maatsen adding to the pressure as they look to turn their season around.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football and BBC Sport Football.