The Holy Trinity: Aston Villa conclusions from Premier League victory v Nottingham Forest

John McGinn's brilliant brace took Villa to a 3-1 win in their first game of 2026

Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche made this a very specific kind of test but found the opposition more than ready to answer the single question he tried to pose.

Aston Villa had lots of the ball in their Premier League match against Forest but it was immediately apparent that they were moving it with intent. Despite the flapping of Villa Twitter, Unai Emery’s team always looked very likely to find the first goal.

It was an effective performance for the most part and Villa came away with three goals and three points in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Their lack of first-choice defensive combinations showed in the Forest goal, scored at 2-0 by Morgan Gibbs-White – his finish, typically, was terrific – but the fact is this was the most comfortable win Villa have had this season with the exception of AFC Bournemouth at home.

Here’s your Holy Trinity of match conclusions: