How the national media reacted to Aston Villa's win over Nottingham Forest as FA Cup point made
Unai Emery's Aston Villa defeated Nottingham Forest at Villa Park on Saturday evening
Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 on Saturday night to extend their winning run to seven games in all competitions.
Morgan Rogers opened the scoring in the 13th minute, before Donyell Malen scored his second goal in as many games soon after.
Forest halved their deficit through Jota Silva, whose deflected effort beat Emi Martinez just before the hour mark.
Murillo hit the bar in the first minute of added time, but Villa held on for their third consecutive league victory ahead of facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Here is how the national media reacted to Villa's win...
BBC
By Phil McNulty
Aston Villa's dream start was transformed into an almighty second-half struggle, but they stood firm to secure another vital victory.
Unai Emery's side started with a pace and fierce intensity that Forest were unable to cope with. The goals from Rogers and Malen were no more than they deserved.
Rogers was at the heart of Villa's best work, while Youri Tielemans orchestrated affairs from midfield.
The Times
By Ian Whittell
Two of the Premier League’s bright young things did not disappoint in a game which could have been won by either and which, should they come through their respective semi-finals, served as an excellent preview of a potential FA Cup final next month.
Goals from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen produced a seventh straight victory for Unai Emery’s side although his opposite number, Nuno Espírito Santo, has every right to wonder how this was possible, given the chances his side carved out, particularly after the break.
The Guardian
By Ben Fisher
How Aston Villa were made to sweat for a seventh successive victory. At least the manner in which Nottingham Forest swarmed their goal as they pushed for a second-half equaliser may prove a decent dress rehearsal for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at Paris Saint-Germain.
Forest pulled a goal back through the half-time substitute Jota Silva and then dialled up the pressure but the visitors, determined to emulate Villa by gatecrashing Europe’s elite, were beaten by early goals from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen. For Villa, who cut the gap to third-placed Forest to six points, attention will quickly turn to analysing the Ligue 1 champions.
The Daily Mail
By Tom Collomosse
Football in this country is about so much more than the so-called ‘big six’ and Forest and Villa are producing special seasons, reminders of their own fabulous history but also that of the wider English game, when wealth alone did not guarantee success.
Both clubs are in the FA Cup semi-finals, while Villa take on newly-crowned French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight of the Champions League. Nights like those are so close for Forest that they can almost touch them. They remain third, six points clear of sixth-placed Villa, who are level on points with Manchester City in fifth. The top five are all likely to qualify for the Champions League.
The Independent
By Jonathan Veal
Aston Villa warmed up for their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain with a crunch 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest which boosts their chances of returning to Europe’s biggest stage next season.
Villa’s electric start saw Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen both score in the opening 15 minutes to put them on the road to a seventh successive win in all competitions.
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