Aston Villa responded strongly to their first defeat in two months, defeating Nottingham Forest 3-1 on Saturday to surge into second place in the Premier League standings.
After a quiet first half, Villa struck in stoppage time when England forward Ollie Watkins unleashed a long-range effort to give the hosts the lead.
Captain John McGinn then took control after the break, scoring twice to put Unai Emery’s side firmly in command.
Forest briefly threatened a comeback when Morgan Gibbs-White pulled one back in the 61st minute, making it 2-1. However, any hopes of a turnaround were quickly dashed by a costly error from Forest goalkeeper John Victor.
Charging out of his area to deal with a ball over the top, Victor misjudged the situation, allowing McGinn to calmly go around him and roll the ball into an empty net from distance.
The goalkeeper was forced off injured immediately after the goal.
The win was a timely bounce-back for Villa, whose impressive 11-match winning streak, including eight league victories had been halted by a heavy 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in midweek.
Emery’s men leapfrogged Manchester City, who face Chelsea on Sunday, and now sit three points behind leaders Arsenal, who travel to Bournemouth later in the day.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Brighton entertain Burnley, while West Ham head to face bottom side Wolverhampton, who remain winless after 19 games this season.
