Nottingham Forest’s Europa League hopes suffered a damaging blow at Villa Park as Aston Villa delivered a ruthless second-half display to secure a commanding 4-0 victory but beyond the scoreline, the absence of Nigerian duo Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina told its own story.
Forest arrived in Birmingham already weakened by the continued absence of Aina, who has not featured since the emphatic 5-0 win over Sunderland before suffering an injury setback, while Awoniyi’s absence deprived the visitors of one of their most dangerous attacking outlets.
Without Aina’s defensive calm and recovery pace on the flank, Forest struggled to contain Villa’s movement, particularly through the intelligent runs of Ollie Watkins and the creativity of Emiliano Buendia.
At the other end, Forest lacked the physical presence and direct threat Awoniyi has often provided in major matches. The Nigerian striker had tormented Chelsea only days earlier with a devastating display at Stamford Bridge, but this time Forest looked far less dangerous in transition.
Pau Torres forced an excellent save from Stefan Ortega from a corner before Buendia tested the goalkeeper again with a low strike as the hosts steadily increased pressure.
Forest briefly threatened through Omari Hutchinson, whose effort flashed narrowly wide, while Chris Wood struggled in isolation against Villa’s organised defensive line.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 36th minute through Buendia who slipped a precise pass into the path of Watkins, and the Villa striker showed composure inside the area before firing emphatically into the roof of the net to give the hosts a deserved lead.
READMORE: What convinced NFF to appoint Maikaba, Uwejamomere as Flying Eagles and Eaglets coaches
Forest attempted to respond after the break, introducing Ryan Yates for James McAtee in search of more control, but Villa’s dominance only intensified.
The game’s defining moment came shortly before the hour mark when VAR intervened following appeals for a foul inside the box. After a review, referee Glenn Nyberg pointed to the spot, allowing Buendia to double Villa’s advantage from the penalty spot despite Ortega getting a hand to the effort.
From there, Forest’s structure completely collapsed.
Watkins had another effort ruled out for offside before John McGinn took control of the contest with two devastating finishes in quick succession.
His first arrived in the 77th minute after latching onto a through ball from Watkins before drilling into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Three minutes later, the Villa captain punished Forest again with another composed finish to make it 4-0 and effectively end the contest.
Forest did create isolated moments late on through Chris Wood who forced a strong save from Emiliano Martínez, while substitute Lorenzo Lucca offered brief attacking energy, but the visitors never truly looked capable of mounting a comeback.
Instead, the night increasingly highlighted how much Forest missed two of their most influential Nigerian players.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN ATHLETIC NG WHATSAPP CHANNEL NOW!
Aina’s absence disrupted the defensive balance that had helped Forest edge Villa in the first leg at the City Ground before his injury. Meanwhile, without Awoniyi’s power, pressing and ability to stretch defences, Forest lacked the cutting edge that has defined many of their strongest performances this season.
By full time, Villa Park was celebrating a statement European victory orchestrated by the most successful Europa league manager Unai Emery.
