Aston Villa proved their hunger to qualify for the Champions League as a scintillating attacking display earned all three points against Nottingham Forest, says winger Leon Bailey.
A breathtaking first-half saw Villa race into a 3-0 lead at Villa Park and ultimately see them bounce back from successive home defeats.
They took the lead in the fourth minute, with Ollie Watkins tapping in his 14th Premier League goal of the season after brilliant work down the right by Bailey.
Douglas Luiz then scored twice in 10 minutes, first slotting home a Jacob Ramsey cut-back in the 29th minute, before heading in John McGinn’s right-wing cross.
Moussa Niakhate chested home his first Forest goal in first-half stoppage-time, before Morgan Gibbs-White dinked over the advancing Emi Martinez three minutes after the break.
Bailey secured the three points for the hosts, tapping into a vacant net after Watkins’ effort was saved following Forest losing the ball high up in their own half.
The result sees fourth-placed Villa open a five-point lead over Tottenham, who are not in action this weekend, and a eight-point gap over sixth-placed Manchester United, who lost 2-1 against Fulham at Old Trafford.
“That [the top four] is the goal for us,” Bailey told BBC Match of the Day. “We want to be in the Champions League next season.
“The key is to be consistent and take it step by step.”
Villa boss Unai Emery was more cautious though, telling Sky Sports: “It is still the same, if we arrive at game 33 in the same position, we maybe look to the Champions League; for now, it is about being in the top seven positions. We have to always be positive, and focus on each match.”
Emery’s side moved 15 points clear of eighth-placed Newcastle, who can close the gap when they visit Arsenal at 20:00 GMT on Saturday.
Forest remain 16th, four points clear of the relegation zone.
Villa get home form back on track
Villa’s charge into the Champions League places – and as possible title contenders a few weeks ago – has been based around an exemplary home record that saw them go 17 games unbeaten, winning 16.
Their slight drop-off in recent weeks has coincided with that run ending with successive defeats by Newcastle and Manchester United.
This win was earned in a rip-roaring opening half an hour where they consistently caused issues down their right wing.
The opener saw Bailey nip past Murillo, with his cross nutmegging Felipe and put on a plate for Watkins to tap home.
Both of Luiz’s goals came down the same side, with Ramsey showing brilliant composure to pick out the Brazil midfielder and McGinn’s cross pinpoint.
The three first-half goals mean Villa have now scored a league-high 27 in the opening period this season.
Emery will be disappointed by both of the goals they conceded, with Niakhete and Gibbs-White allowed unchallenged efforts on their goal.
However, with Europa Conference League football on the horizon again in a fortnight, he will be grateful for the gap his side are opening on their challengers.
“It was very important,” Emery told Match of the Day.
“We adapted well at Sheffield United and Fulham after defeats at home, but we needed confidence here and a reaction. We are feeling very comfortable and confident at Villa Park.
“We played a really fantastic match in the first half and only the first 15 minutes of the second half we had some doubts, but we stayed calm and reacted well.”
Enforced change sees Forest exploited
Forest had picked up 10 points from the first eight games of Nuno Espirito Santo’s tenure but they were blown away by Villa here.
They were forced into one change from their win over West Ham last weekend with Nuno Tavares missing out through injury, and Villa duly exploited centre-back Niakhete playing at left-back.
He was often out of position, dragging centre-backs Murillo and Felipe, who were both booked in the first half, wider.
Nuno was clearly furious with his side’s first-half display, opting to make a triple switch at the break, and his team were better in the second period.
At 3-2 Forest had a big chance to equalise when Anthony Elanga went through on goal but dragged his effort wide of the target.
Bailey’s goal came from efficient Villa pressing.
Forest have now scored 17 Premier League goals in Nuno’s time in charge – the same as in the first 17 games of the season under Steve Cooper – and that is a positive heading into the final stretch of the season.
However, their Premier League status may well depend on the outcome of the charge against the club for alleged breaches of profit and sustainability rules in their accounts for 2022-23.
“We started very bad, we conceded too easily. This is something we have to improve,” Nuno told Match of the Day.
“It is too easy for the opponent to score. We are always able to score, so we need to balance these two parts of the game.”
