Igor Jesus Leads Nottingham Forest to Historic Victory Over Aston Villa

Igor Jesus needed one touch. One late, ruthless touch to rip up 32 years of hurt at Villa Park and hand Nottingham Forest a first league win there since the early 1990s.

With two minutes left, the substitute darted into the six-yard box and stabbed home, sealing a fully deserved 2-1 victory and delivering Oliver Glasner his first win as Forest head coach. Villa, still without a Premier League win this season, trudged off to a chorus of frustration and a rising sense of unease.

Forest sharper, hungrier, better

Forest earned this. They pressed, they ran, and when the game drifted in the second half, they were the ones who grabbed it by the throat.

Liam Delap set the tone. The £50m summer signing from Chelsea, still searching for rhythm after a quiet start to life at Forest, finally burst into life. His first goal since January, and his first for his new club, came with the kind of conviction that suggested a weight lifting from his shoulders.

Delap’s opener rewarded Forest’s control and punished Villa’s lethargy. The hosts had barely strung together a meaningful move when they suddenly found themselves behind, and it felt entirely in keeping with the pattern of the game.

Villa did respond, eventually. Alysson levelled with their first Premier League goal of the season, a much-needed moment for a side that had looked blunt and short of ideas. The equaliser came against the flow, a reminder that even on an off day, Unai Emery’s team still carry individual quality.

But that was as good as it got.

Villa’s cracks show

The warning signs flashed early. Villa’s best chance before the break came from chaos rather than craft.

Victor Lindelof’s strike took a wicked deflection off Murillo, forcing Sels into a sharp save as the ball spun on to the post. Murillo’s clearance fell straight back to Lindelof, whose instinctive follow-up was again blocked by the goalkeeper. It was frantic, scruffy, and completely out of step with the rest of Villa’s attacking play, which never found any real cohesion.

That flurry was the exception. The rule was slow passing, loose touches, and a team still trying to recognise itself.

Emery’s patience is being tested. He has spoken repeatedly about the scale of Villa’s summer rebuild, the tactical detail he demands, the time needed for his players to absorb it all. But when your side looks this disjointed at home, explanations start to sound thin.

His biggest statement came at half-time. Off went £65m record signing Nicolas Jackson, sacrificed after a flat first 45 minutes. On came Tammy Abraham, a striker Emery had been ready to move on in the summer. If it was meant as a jolt, it didn’t work.

Abraham ran, chased, and offered presence, but Villa never truly clicked around him. The structure remained fuzzy, the passing predictable. Forest, sensing weakness, stepped higher and took control.

A 3-2 Champions League win at Club Brugge had hinted that Villa might be ready to ignite. Instead, this felt like a step backwards, a reminder that Emery’s intricate demands and a reshaped squad still have a long way to go before they resemble a settled, convincing side.

Glasner’s hold over Emery continues

There is a pattern here, and it does not flatter Emery.

Since Oliver Glasner arrived in English football with Crystal Palace in February 2024, the Austrian has faced Emery eight times. Emery is still waiting for his first win against him.

Glasner’s Palace side dismantled Villa 3-0 at Villa Park at the start of last season. Different club for Glasner now, same outcome. The scoreline was tighter this time, but again his team were better drilled, braver on the ball, and clearer in their identity.

This Forest performance followed on from impressive draws against Liverpool and Tottenham. Those results hinted that Glasner was beginning to mould this squad into something coherent. This win confirmed it.

Forest were compact without the ball, sharp in transition, and bold enough to keep pushing even after Alysson’s equaliser might have rattled a less confident side. They refused to settle for a point. Jesus’ late winner was the payoff for that ambition.

For Forest, this is more than just three points or the end of a 32-year wait at Villa Park. It feels like the first real marker of the Glasner era.

For Emery, the questions only grow louder. How long before this expensively rebuilt Villa side starts to look like his team, rather than a collection of ideas still stuck in rehearsal?