Nottingham Forest snatched a dramatic 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park, with substitute Igor Jesus netting a stoppage-time winner to deepen the hosts' woes and deliver Oliver Glasner his first triumph since taking charge.
Jesus struck in the 88th minute, converting from close range after Daniel Munoz's cross was flicked into his path by Morgan Gibbs-White, sealing a result that lifted Forest while leaving Villa still searching for consistency. The defeat means Unai Emery's side remain without a win in their last four Premier League outings and sit precariously in the relegation zone.
The opening stages produced a bizarre sequence of events that somehow denied Villa an early breakthrough. In the sixth minute, Emiliano Buendia's cross found Victor Lindelof, whose effort cannoned off Murillo before Matz Sels clawed it away. The Belgian shot-stopper's save cannoned off a post, and when Murillo's attempted clearance struck Lindelof again, Sels was forced into a second remarkable intervention to keep the scores level.
Forest gradually found their rhythm, with James McAtee forcing a save from Zion Suzuki and Gibbs-White later shooting straight at the goalkeeper from a promising position. Villa should have taken the lead before the interval when Neco Williams was picked out unmarked on the edge of the box by McAtee, only for the Welsh full-back to blaze his effort over the bar.
Emery made a bold decision at half-time, withdrawing record signing Nicolas Jackson after an ineffective display. The change did little to arrest Villa's momentum immediately, as Forest struck just 45 seconds into the second period. Liam Delap, continuing to justify his £50million price tag, muscled past Buendia and drove forward before rifling a low finish into the bottom corner from 20 yards.
Emboldened by the goal, Forest pushed for a second. Dan Ndoye headed over from a good position before seeing a follow-up effort blocked after being set up by Delap. The former Chelsea forward thought he had doubled the lead moments later, finishing clinically from a Gibbs-White pass, but the effort was chalked off for offside.
Villa's introduction of summer arrivals Ibrahim Mbaye and Johan Manzambi injected fresh energy into the home side's attack. Mbaye curled an effort that Sels did well to tip around the post, and soon after Villa finally registered their first league goal of the campaign. A short corner routine ended with John McGinn whipping in a cross that Alysson glanced home for his maiden goal for the club, sparking hopes of a comeback at Villa Park.
The momentum appeared to be shifting towards the hosts as they searched for a winner, but Forest held firm through further scares, with Suzuki denying headers from both Munoz and Xaver Schlager. With the match seemingly destined for a draw, Forest struck the decisive blow in the closing stages when Jesus arrived to stab home the winner and complete a memorable victory for the visitors.
The win marked Forest's first at Villa Park since 1994 and extended Glasner's unbeaten record against Emery to eight matches. For Villa, the result compounds a difficult start to the season as Emery continues rebuilding following significant squad turnover in the summer transfer window.
Based on reporting from The Independent (PA).