Unai Emery shares what Nottingham Forest did ‘very well’ despite 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa

Despite a stunning late effort from Murillo, which clipped the crossbar, Nottingham Forest fell to defeat at Villa Park on Saturday.

A strike by Jota Silva was not enough to overturn early efforts from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen, who ensured Aston Villa moved to within six points of Nottingham Forest in the Premier League by securing a 2-1 win.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
LiverpoolLiverpool	30	22	7	1	70	27	43	73
2	ArsenalArsenal	31	17	11	3	56	26	30	62
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	31	17	6	8	51	37	14	57
4	ChelseaChelsea	30	15	7	8	54	37	17	52
5	Man CityManchester City	30	15	6	9	57	40	17	51
6	Aston VillaAston Villa	31	14	9	8	46	46	0	51

It was an uncharacteristically open defensive display by the Reds, who conceded 17 shots to Aston Villa, which will concern Nuno Espirito Santo – although Unai Emery was still left impressed by Nottingham Forest.

What Unai Emery said about Nottingham Forest

Speaking to the BBC after victory on Saturday, the Spaniard said: “Nottingham were competing very well today. They are favourites to get top five in the league. We are going to focus every match to try to get the best out of each match we are playing. We need to enjoy what we are doing.”

Nuno’s side did compete well in an attacking sense, pushing hard to make up for a poor start by registering 19 shots in total – but with only three on target, the end product on show was not too impressive.

Ultimately, the issue for Nottingham Forest, who are scouting Luis Henrique, was how slowly they started, conceding in the 13th and the 15th minute, which is not an ideal way to begin against a solid side, one in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League and also in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

Nuno Espirito Santo needs to get Nottingham Forest back on track away from the City Ground

A worrying trend is emerging as Nottingham Forest – who like Darwin Nunez – approach the business end to the campaign.

Having previously won seven and drawn two of their first 11 Premier League away games of the season, Nottingham Forest have lost four of the last five games away from the City Ground.

With trips to Tottenham, Crystal Palace and West Ham still to come in the final seven Premier League games, Nuno needs to do something to inspire Nottingham Forest on the road once again, or else it could be a nervy end to the 2024/25 campaign with UEFA Champions League football on the line.