Villa bounced back from a heavy defeat at Arsenal in midweek to comfortably beat their Midlands rivals. Emery’s side had won a club record 11 games in a row before the 4-1 defeat in north London, but bounced back to winning ways straight away at Villa Park.
After a frustrating first half, Ollie Watkins gave Villa the lead just before half-time. When given space to shoot, the England international scored his fourth Premier League goal in his last three games.
John McGinn’s double, either side of Morgan Gibbs-White’s chipped response for Forest, sealed a win that moved The Villans into second place. Villa moved within three points of leaders Arsenal and, crucially, 12 points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification.
“So good, three points. We needed rest and work to prepare for this match. The players responded fantastically to the demands we set,” Emery told BBC Match of the Day.
Starting the new year as we want to continue ✊
Three points. Three goals. pic.twitter.com/oKGFVYkLeB
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 3, 2026
“We had to score one goal when we had chances to do so. The key was that we didn’t concede a clear transition. We dominated with possession, positioning and we did it with our mentality to keep our momentum.”
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