Igor Jesus Leads Nottingham Forest to First Villa Park Win in 32 Years

Nottingham Forest left Villa Park with more than just three points. They walked away with a statement, a first win there in 32 years, and a late winner that silenced a restless home crowd and deepened Aston Villa’s early-season unease.

With two minutes left, substitute Igor Jesus darted into the box and stabbed home the decisive goal, sealing Oliver Glasner’s first victory as Forest head coach. It was no smash-and-grab. Forest earned this.

They had already been rewarded in the first half when Liam Delap, a £50m summer signing from Chelsea, finally got moving in Forest colours. His first goal since January, his first for his new club, and a finish that carried the weight of expectation and relief in equal measure.

Villa, flat for long spells, needed something – anything – to jolt them into life. Alysson provided it, levelling with the hosts’ first Premier League goal of the season. It briefly changed the noise inside the stadium. It did not change the pattern of the game.

Villa’s stutter, Forest’s control

Villa actually had the first big chance. Victor Lindelof’s effort took a wicked deflection off Murillo, forcing Sels into a sharp save that nudged the ball on to the post. Murillo’s clearance fell straight back to Lindelof, whose instinctive follow-up was again blocked by the Forest goalkeeper.

That flurry hinted at a home side ready to assert themselves. It never really happened.

Unai Emery, already under scrutiny after a turbulent summer rebuild, watched his team labour. The passing was slow, the pressing half-hearted, the ideas muddled. Forest, by contrast, grew in authority, snapping into challenges and breaking with conviction.

Emery’s patience plea will only stretch so far. His decision at half-time said plenty: off came £65m record signing Nicolas Jackson, on came Tammy Abraham – a striker he had been willing to move on in the summer. It felt less like a tactical tweak and more like a public admission that this new-look Villa attack has not clicked.

Forest sensed that uncertainty and bossed long stretches of the second half. They were sharper to second balls, more aggressive in transition, and far clearer in their structure. Alysson’s equaliser arrived almost against the flow, a reminder that Villa still carry threat even when misfiring.

But the pressure told in the end. Jesus’ late intervention punished Villa’s looseness and rewarded Forest’s belief.

Glasner’s edge over Emery grows

There is a subplot that will not go away. What exactly does Oliver Glasner have over Unai Emery?

Since the Austrian arrived in England with Crystal Palace in February 2024, Emery has yet to beat him. Eight games, no wins. Glasner’s Palace side dismantled Villa 3-0 at Villa Park at the start of last season. The scoreline was narrower this time, but the feeling was familiar: his team again looked better drilled, more cohesive, and more ruthless in key moments.

A 3-2 Champions League win at Club Brugge recently had inflated expectations around Villa, hinting at an attacking side ready to open up. The reality here was harsher. They looked disjointed, weighed down by the sheer volume of tactical detail Emery demands, and short of the fluency their talent suggests.

That might be understandable in September. It will not be acceptable for long.

Forest, meanwhile, look like a side quickly tuning into their manager’s wavelength. After eye-catching draws against Liverpool and Tottenham, this first league win of the campaign under Glasner feels like a natural next step rather than a one-off shock.

Confidence will surge from this – not just because of the result, but because of where and how they earned it: outplaying a Champions League side on their own pitch and snapping a three-decade hoodoo with a late, ruthless finish.

For Villa, the search for a Premier League win goes on. For Forest, the question now is simple: if this is them still learning Glasner’s demands, what happens when they truly hit their stride?