Aston Villa 3-1 Nottingham Forest: McGinn bags brace to reignite title hopes

John McGinn’s first Premier League brace helped Aston Villa bounce back from their defeat to title rivals Arsenal as they downed Nottingham Forest 3-1 on Saturday.

The Villa captain’s second-half double came after Ollie Watkins’ earlier strike, while Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal failed to spark a comeback as Unai Emery’s side moved to within three points of leaders Arsenal.

Watkins, who missed from just six yards out in the second minute, eventually thumped Villa into a deserved lead in first-half stoppage time after receiving the ball on the edge of the box from Morgan Rogers before firing home.

McGinn quickly doubled their advantage just four minutes after the restart, converting from Matty’s Cash inviting cutback into the roof of the net.

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

However, a moment of madness from Forest goalkeeper John Victor saw him caught off his line and Villa restored their two-goal lead.

McGinn received a long ball from Youri Tielemans and finished into an empty net from distance in the 73rd minute.

Gibbs-White tried to force a nervy ending, testing Martinez with a shot from range, but the Argentina international thwarted his attempt as Villa saw the win through at home.

Starting the new year as we mean to go on

Three points. Three goals. pic.twitter.com/oKGFVYkLeB

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 3, 2026

Data Debrief: Perfect comeback for Villa

Aside from the goal they conceded, it was as dominant a game as Emery could have hoped for after their loss to Arsenal. Villa produced 1.64 expected goals (xG) from 11 shots to Forest’s 0.89 from 10 attempts.

Villa recorded a 73.1% share of possession, their third highest in a Premier League game at Villa Park since Opta have recorded this data (2003-04) – the Villans’ tally of 574 successful passes was also their most in the league this season.

Villa’s attacking players will take many of the plaudits, but Boubacar Kamara’s return from suspension was crucial. He won 13 of his 22 duels, won possession back five times, recorded four interceptions and won two of his five tackles.

The Villans have also now won each of their last eight Premier League home games, their outright second longest such run in the competition, only behind a 15-game streak between March and December 2023, also under Emery.