Aston Villa's Scottish midfielder John McGinn celebrates after scoring their third goal during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on January 3, 2026. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP)
London: Aston Villa bounced back from a chastening defeat at Arsenal to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 on Saturday and climb to second in the Premier League as West Ham collapsed against basement club Wolves.
Unai Emery's Villa are now just three points behind the table-topping Gunners, who are in action at Bournemouth in the late kick-off.
Villa's 11-game winning streak in all competitions was brought to a shuddering halt with a 4-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, raising doubts about their ability to maintain a title charge.
But their impressive record at Villa Park remains intact -- they have now won 11 straight matches there since a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in August.
England forward Ollie Watkins gave Villa a deserved lead on the cusp of half-time with a powerful strike from just outside the area.
John McGinn made it 2-0 early in the second period before Morgan Gibbs-White gave Forest hope of an unlikely point.
But Scotland midfielder McGinn scored his second goal of the game from distance after a brain freeze from Forest goalkeeper John Victor, who inexplicably charged out of his area.
McGinn collected Youri Tielemans' long ball and remained cool, sidestepping the 'keeper and stroking the ball into the empty net.
The win takes Villa to 42 points, three behind leaders Arsenal, and one ahead of Manchester City, who host managerless Chelsea on Sunday.
Villa boss Emery told Sky Sports that his players and coaching staff had held a meeting after their drubbing at the Emirates.
"I am so happy," he said. "We had to recover our energy and our confidence. Here, at Villa Park, the energy we create was really important.
"Forest are competitive. After the Arsenal match we met. The players and staff, how we are doing this season, how we are feeling, how we needed to keep the same consistency as before. How we needed to be together and strong."
Sean Dyche's Forest, who have now suffered four straight league defeats, remain one place above the relegation zone, four points clear of West Ham, who slumped to a damaging 3-0 loss at Molineux.
West Ham, winless since early November, travelled to face Wolves in desperate need of a victory against a team that had mustered just three points by the midway point of the season.
Jhon Arias gave the home side an early lead and Hwang Hee-chan doubled their advantage from the penalty spot shortly after the half-hour mark.
Teenager Mateus Mane drilled in his first Premier League goal shortly before half-time, all but guaranteeing Rob Edwards' team a first win of the season.
It is a disastrous result for Nuno Espirito Santo's men, who are in danger of being cut adrift at the bottom of the Premier League along with Wolves and Burnley.
West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos apologised to fans for the "unacceptable" performance.
"We just have to work harder and we have to realise the situation that we're in," he told Sky Sports. "There is only one way to solve the situation and it's up to us."
Wolves, who drew with Manchester United in midweek, have a glimmer of hope but they remain 12 points from safety.
"We have been improving and progressing and you saw that today," Edwards told the BBC. "It is another step in the right direction, that is all it was and it is nice it has culminated in a win."
Elsewhere on Saturday, Brighton beat Burnley 2-0, courtesy of goals from Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari.
