Igor Jesus Secures Victory for Nottingham Forest at Villa Park

Igor Jesus struck at the death to end a 32-year wait for Nottingham Forest at Villa Park and deepen Aston Villa’s early-season gloom.

With two minutes left, and with the home side seemingly clinging to a point they scarcely deserved, the Forest substitute reacted quickest in the box and stabbed in the winner. Oliver Glasner, arms aloft on the touchline, had his first victory as Forest head coach – and a statement one at that.

Forest seize their moment

Forest had earned it. They were sharper, more cohesive, and carried a threat Villa rarely matched.

Liam Delap, a £50m signing from Chelsea, set the tone. Still searching for rhythm after his big summer move, he finally found release with his first goal since January, opening his Forest account and quietening Villa Park. It was the kind of finish that can unlock a season: direct, confident, overdue.

Villa did find a response. Alysson, with their first Premier League goal of the campaign, dragged them level and briefly shifted the mood. The roar felt more like relief than belief, but it gave Unai Emery’s side a lifeline they had done little to earn.

Even that came against the run of play. Forest had controlled long spells, particularly after the break, and once they recovered from an early scare, they rarely looked rattled.

Villa’s stutter continues

The hosts actually could have struck first. Victor Lindelof’s effort took a wicked deflection off Murillo, forcing Sels into a sharp save that pushed the ball on to the post. Murillo’s clearance fell straight back to Lindelof, whose instinctive follow-up was again smothered by the Forest goalkeeper. It was scrappy, frantic, and as good as it got for Villa for a long while.

Those chances proved the exception, not the pattern.

Emery’s side never settled. Disjointed in possession, loose in structure, they struggled to handle Forest’s energy and organisation. The Villa manager had already demanded patience after a turbulent summer rebuild; Jesus’ late winner will only stretch that patience further.

The most telling moment came at half-time. Emery withdrew £65m record signing Nicolas Jackson, turning instead to Tammy Abraham – a striker he had been prepared to let leave in the same window. It felt less like a tweak and more like an admission: this new-look Villa have not yet found their shape, their fluency, or their edge.

A 3-2 Champions League win at Club Brugge had hinted at momentum. Here, the gaps in Emery’s project were laid bare. Villa looked like a side still processing instructions, weighed down by detail, rather than one ready to impose itself.

Glasner’s hold over Emery

On the opposite bench, Glasner cut a far more assured figure. He has history in this duel, and it shows.

Since the Austrian arrived in the Premier League with Crystal Palace in February 2024, Emery has not beaten him. Eight games, no victories. Glasner’s Palace thumped Villa 3-0 at Villa Park at the start of last season; this time the margin was slimmer, but the pattern familiar. His team again came, again organised, again left with a deserved win.

This Forest side is starting to bear his imprint. After hard-earned draws against Liverpool and Tottenham, this first victory of the campaign feels like a natural next step rather than a bolt from the blue. The structure is clearer, the belief stronger, the late winner no accident.

For Villa, the wait for a Premier League win goes on, the questions grow louder, and the Emery–Glasner subplot gains another chapter.

For Forest, and for Igor Jesus, that long, 32-year shadow at Villa Park has finally lifted. Where does their ceiling sit if this is only the beginning?