Unai Emery hailed the response of his Aston Villa side following the club’s 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
Villa bounced back from a heavy midweek defeat at Arsenal to beat their Midlands rivals in comfortable fashion. Emery’s side had won a club-record equalling 11 consecutive games before their 4-1 loss in North London, but got back to winning ways immediately at Villa Park.
After a frustrating first half, Ollie Watkins fired Villa in front just before half-time. Given room to shoot, the England international lashed in 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 took The Villans second in the table. 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 get ready for this match. The players responded fantastically to the demands we set,” Emery said, speaking to BBC Match of the Day.
Starting the new year as we mean to go on ✊
Three points. Three goals. pic.twitter.com/oKGFVYkLeB
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 3, 2026
“We needed 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 the possession, the positioning and we did it with our mentality to keep our momentum.”
Read –Â The football stories that defined the year in 2025
See more –Â The biggest Premier League title race leads on January 1st
