Five things we learned as Nottingham Forest produce dramatic comeback win vs Aston Villa

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Nottingham Forest scored two late goals to secure victory over Aston Villa, lifting Forest into the Champions League places.

Forest’s win over Villa came in incredibly dramatic circumstances, with both goals in the 2-1 victory coming after the 85th minute.

Jhon Duran gave Villa the lead in the second half after a nervy first 45 minutes, but goals from Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga gave Forest all three points.

Forest fans praised Elanga after Nuno Espirito Santo’s inspired substitution proved the difference between the two sides, leaving Evangelos Marinakis to smash a TV after Elanga’s goal which would’ve been a relatable reaction for fans at the City Ground.

Given the magnitude of the victory, here are five things we learned about Nottingham Forest in their Premier League victory over Aston Villa.

Morgan Gibbs-White is Nottingham Forest’s talisman

In a tight first half, Morgan Gibbs-White was Forest’s bright spark in attack with his successful midfield dribbles and progressive passing.

Even as fellow Forest attackers struggled to impact the game, Gibbs-White continued to plug away, producing a brilliant cross for Milenkovic’s headed equaliser that emphasised his crucial importance to the Forest squad.

Anthony Elanga staked a claim for a starting spot

Elanga hadn’t scored a goal this season when he came on in the 77th minute against Villa, but made quite the impression in his 13 minutes.

He scored the winning goal after Elliot Anderson’s cutback but also provided an assist for Chris Wood that was ruled out due to offside. Given the poor performance of Nicolas Dominguez out wide, Elanga has surely given himself a chance to start against Brentford.

Nottingham Forest had a mixed afternoon with VAR

In the first half, Anderson tugged back on Morgan Rogers’ shirt as the forward drove into the box. The Villa players appealed but no action was taken by VAR, much to the relief of Espirito Santo.

Forest weren’t so fortunate in the second half, as Elanga was played into the box to tee up Wood for the equaliser. A lengthy VAR check adjudged Elanga to be offside, but Forest overcame this disappointment to secure the win.

Nikola Milenkovic showed his value once more

Scoring the goal that brought Forest back into the game, Milenkovic somewhat redeemed himself after struggling to contain Duran for Villa’s opener.

Defensively, the Serbian won all of his duels and his tackles throughout the game, emphasising his value at both ends of the pitch. Milenkovic joined Forest from Fiorentina for just £12m in the summer, with performances like this showing what a bargain he was.

Nottingham Forest are firm contenders for Europe

If people were still unsure of Nottingham Forest’s credentials as a challenger for European football, the manner of the result and performance against Villa should go a long way to convincing them.

The battling away wins against Liverpool and Manchester United were impressive, but the Forest squad created enough chances to thoroughly deserve their win against Villa, a side that they are now undeniably competing with for a place in Europe next season.