Aston Villa 1-2 Nottingham Forest: Match Recap and Result

Match: 12 September 2026, 14:00 UTC · Published: 12 September 2026 · 331 words

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Nottingham Forest beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the Premier League at Villa Park, leading through Liam Delap after the break, conceding an equalizer, then winning it late through Igor Jesus.

Match Summary

The opening 45 minutes produced no goals. Bookings arrived before the interval for Dan Ndoye, Nicolas Jackson and Murillo Santiago.

Forest struck a minute into the second half. Liam Delap scored in the 46th minute, Murillo Santiago providing the assist, and the visitors led. Villa were not finished. Alysson Edward Franco da Rocha leveled in the 74th minute, John McGinn the provider, before Igor Jesus restored Forest's lead in the 88th minute, Morgan Gibbs-White the provider this time. The official scoreline stayed 1-2.

Key Moments

Going in front immediately after a blank first half changed the terms. Villa had to chase, and Forest could defend a lead they had not found before the interval.

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The home reply with 16 minutes left briefly restored parity and threatened to undo that second-half work.

Two minutes from the end of normal time, Forest found the winner. That finish decided a match Villa had just dragged back to level, and it rewarded the visitors' greater volume of attempts.

Five yellow cards for Forest against two for Villa never turned into a red. The visitors still closed out the result.

Match Statistics

Aston Villa edged possession at 53 percent to 47 and won six corners to Nottingham Forest's one. The shot ledger told another story. Forest produced 21 attempts to Villa's six, with seven on target against five. The visitors collected five yellow cards and the hosts two. Neither side saw a red card.

What the Result Means

Nottingham Forest are 16th in the Premier League, with two points from three matches and a goal difference of minus one. Aston Villa sit 17th on one point from three games, with a goal difference of minus five. The sides are a point apart. Forest have two draws and one loss in their last three. Villa have one draw and two losses in that span.