Aston Villa 3-1 Forest

John McGinn’s first Premier League brace helped Aston Villa to an 11th straight home win in all competitions, equalling a club record, as they bounced back from their defeat to title rivals Arsenal with a 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest.

Ollie Watkins thumped Villa into a deserved lead in first-half stoppage time before McGinn quickly doubled their advantage just four minutes after the restart.

Forest threatened a comeback just after the hour-mark when Morgan Gibbs-White dinked the ball over Emiliano Martinez for his 50th goal involvement in the competition.

However, McGinn made sure of all three points after he capitalised on some slack goalkeeping from John Victor to finish into an empty net from distance in the 73rd minute.

Unai Emery’s side are now up to second, six points behind Arsenal, and ahead of Manchester City before Pep Guardiola's side face Chelsea on Sunday. Forest, meanwhile, stay down in 17th.

How the match unfolded

Watkins was presented with a golden chance to open the scoring inside two minutes when Morgan Rogers dispossessed Neco Williams inside his own box, but the England international was denied by the right leg of Victor from six yards out.

Villa were frustrated by a stubborn Forest defence; however, their pressure eventually told late in the first half when Watkins collected Rogers’ pass before turning and smashing a powerful effort beyond the grasp of Victor.

Forest were then caught cold after the break, with McGinn turning Matty Cash’s inviting cutback into the roof of the net, but that seemed to spring Sean Dyche’s team into life.

Dilane Bakwa squandered an opportunity when he headed wide from Omari Hutchinson’s cross, but he atoned for that error when playing Gibbs-White through on goal, who stayed composed to score.

Nevertheless, a moment of madness from Victor allowed McGinn to ensure victory, with the Forest goalkeeper rushing off his line and getting nowhere near the ball, allowing the Villa captain to stroke the ball into an unguarded net to help the hosts see out the victory.

Villa impress to reignite title hopes

Many wrote Villa out of the title race after their 4-1 defeat to leaders Arsenal on Tuesday, but they bounced back from that thumping loss at Emirates Stadium in style, dominating Forest on all fronts in the first half.

Watkins would have been disappointed not to put his side ahead earlier than he did at Villa Park, while Ian Maatsen also went close with a strike from range after 17 minutes.

McGinn’s heroics in the second period got them over the line, but Watkins’ opener came at a crucial time for Villa.

Watkins has now scored in three consecutive Premier League games. And although he netted against Arsenal, he would have been left disappointed in his early miss at 0-0 in that match.

It was almost a case of deja vu for the striker, but he made sure to give his side an all-important lead this time around that set them on their way to three points.

Villa will now look to build another impressive winning run when they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace next Wednesday.

Forest looking nervously over their shoulder

Forest looked like they were creating a comfortable gap between themselves and the relegation zone after they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 in December, but Dyche's side have since failed to build on that victory.

Dyche could certainly argue that his game plan was right after Hutchinson was thwarted by Martinez with the game level in the first half, and Bawka missed a header in the second, but it was their mistakes at the other end that cost them.

Williams was let off the hook when he dwelt on the ball for too long in the second minute, but Elliot Anderson was punished when he was dispossessed shortly before McGinn made it 2-0.

And Victor will not want to watch any replays of Villa’s third goal, with the Brazilian inexplicably out of position from Youri Tieleman’s long ball, with his involvement in that action also seeing him leave the pitch with an injury when trying to close McGinn down.

Gibbs-White could not get the better of Martinez with a half-chance soon after that, with Villa showing their maturity in seeing the win through when they went 3-1 ahead.

Forest will be desperate to get back in the win column, and their next match will certainly be seen as a six-pointer as they travel to face 18th-placed West Ham United on Tuesday.