Liam Delap scored a stunning second-half strike and substitute Igor Jesus struck the winner two minutes from full-time as Nottingham Forest beat Aston Villa 2-1 at Villa Park, with Forest manager Oliver Glasner again getting the better of Villa boss Unai Emery.
The defeat leaves Villa with just one point from their opening four Premier League matches of the season. For Glasner, it was a sixth win over Emery in eight meetings between the two managers, and his fourth in the Premier League alone.
It was the Austrian's first victory over Emery since taking charge at Forest, though his previous club, Crystal Palace, had also beaten Villa under Emery in the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. Emery greeted Glasner warmly before kick-off, but the Forest manager again proved an unwelcome opponent.
Glasner, who won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022 and led Crystal Palace to the FA Cup in 2025, is enjoying his first season in charge at Forest. Emery has won 12 major trophies in his own managerial career, including four Europa League titles, but has yet to find an answer to Glasner.
Villa lost six key players over the summer, and in his programme notes before kick-off Emery denied that his team had lost its spine. This performance offered little evidence to support that claim.
Villa equalised through Alysson to cancel out Delap's opener, and with the game seemingly heading for a draw, Villa were reduced to 10 men in the closing stages after Ian Maatsen was forced off injured having already used all their substitutes. Forest made the most of their one-man advantage as Jesus struck two minutes from time.
Delap's second-half transformation
Delap, who joined Forest from Chelsea for £50million after a difficult season at Stamford Bridge, had a quiet first half but was transformed after the break.
He seized on a mix-up between Boubacar Kamara and Emiliano Buendia just 45 seconds after the restart, firing home a drive from 25 yards. He later had a second goal ruled out for a marginal offside, having held off Victor Lindelof with ease before beating goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.
With Ezri Konsa having joined Arsenal over the summer and Pau Torres forced off injured after 25 minutes, Delap was facing a Villa central defence of Tyrone Mings and Lindelof, whose combined age is 65.
Emery goes against his instincts
Emery sent on Johan Manzambi and Ibrahim Mbaye, whose combined transfer cost was around £100million, for their debuts after an hour, a decision that appeared to go against his usual caution with new signings.
Emery generally prefers to introduce new players gradually, believing they need time to learn his instructions. Mbaye made the greater impact of the two, his shot forcing the corner from which Villa's equaliser came.
Villa's defensive injury crisis
Villa's problems extend beyond this result. They could go into next week's Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur without a single member of their first-choice back four.
Konsa and Lucas Digne have both left the club, Matty Cash is already injured, and both Pau Torres and Maatsen picked up knocks during the defeat by Forest.
North Stand rebuild adds to the pressure
Villa are rebuilding the North Stand at Villa Park this season as part of plans to expand the stadium and close the financial gap to the Premier League's leading clubs. The stand is due to reopen at the start of next season, meaning Villa are playing home matches in a three-sided ground in the meantime.
The stadium has been a significant asset to Villa throughout the Emery era, and the club may find it difficult to recreate that atmosphere while the ground remains three-sided this term.
Emery had reservations about the timing of the project. When former chief executive Christian Purslow proposed the expansion at the end of the 2023-24 season, Emery pushed back, reluctant to play Champions League football in a partly built stadium. UEFA's financial rules have since left the club with no option but to press ahead with the redevelopment, though so far the cost of the rebuild appears to be outweighing the benefit.
