Aston Villa don’t really do tap-ins.

Having spent 45 minutes declining to shoot from good areas, Villa went ahead in stoppage time of the first half from a long-range effort from Ollie Watkins, a player who should have scored from a couple yards out just two minutes in.

It would be hard to say it was anything but deserved. After being thumped 4-1 at the Emirates, Villa started like a team looking for a confidence-rebuilding win.

Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest set up as they regularly do under the former Burnley boss: with 10 men behind the ball and Igor Jesus given the thankless task of trying to create chances by himself.

The result was predictable and anyone who sat in the Holte End may have wished their ticket came with a complimentary set of binoculars for the first half. The game was camped in Forest’s half but for all their possession, Villa rarely tested John Victor. A mix-up at the back in the second minute saw the Brazilian make a great instinctive save with his right leg but it was more Villa declining to shoot than Forest’s resolute defence that saw the scores stay level.

In the end, Villa’s breakthrough came from range and their two fingers up to xG continued as Watkins rifled the ball in from just outside the area.

Victor got a hand to it and could maybe have done better but the power on the shot meant he could only deflect it into the net in what was the final kick of the half.

And that is where a game plan like Dyche’s comes unstuck. When your whole team is set up to stop goals, how are you able to change that once one goes in?

The answer was a quick second for Villa in the second half as John McGinn converted a drilled cross from Matty Cash.

It is not as if Forest are entirely bereft of options either. Morgan Gibbs-White is hoping for a spot in England’s World Cup squad. Omari Hutchinson has found his feet after his ￡37.5m move from Ipswich in the summer. Elliot Anderson is being talked about as one of the best midfielders in the league. And yes, Villa may have recently put together an 11-match winning run but they are not 2011 Barcelona. Playing positively is not a guarantee of a 4-0 thumping.

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Dyche will point to his record of keeping teams up and the rise out of the relegation spots since his appointment but this is why he has struggled to move on from being a survival specialist.

The approach also requires you to be perfect at both ends of the pitch. Your minimal chances have to be converted and if your team fails to keep a clean sheet, it is highly likely you will leave the stadium with nothing.

Being 2-0 down did force a change of tack for Forest. The first danger sign came in the 54th minute when Dilane Bakwa should have done better with a free header at the back post but Forest did get a way back into the game on the hour mark when Gibbs-White broke the offside trap, sat Emi Martinez down and chipped it in.

For a brief moment, that goal looked to potentially change the momentum of the game but Villa were soon on the attack once more and any hope of a point was eliminated when Victor decided to run off some of his Christmas roast by charging outside of his box. The keeper not only failed to get close to McGinn on the ball but also ran into Milenkovic, leaving the Scotsman with an open net to secure his first Premier League brace since 2019.

The keeper raised his hand in apology before sitting on the floor and requesting medical help for what must have been a severe case of embarrassment. He did eventually depart with Matz Sels on in his place who was not properly tested in the final knockings of the game.

Villa’s unlikely title charge – and perhaps more realistic push for Champions League football – was put back on track with the Birmingham side three points behind leaders Arsenal ahead of the Gunners’ evening kick-off.

For Forest, it is four defeats on the spin and they should be thankful there are three sides worse than them this year. Dyche’s team will face West Ham next; lose that and they could find themselves back in the drop zone.

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