Villa beats Forest 2-1 thanks to early Rogers, Malen goals

BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters): Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen struck twice in two minutes in a 2-1 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday in an entertaining battle between teams chasing Champions League qualification next season.

Villa extended their run of consecutive victories to eight games across all competitions and climbed to sixth in the league standings on 51 points, six below third-placed Forest, who are on pace for their first berth in Europe’s elite competition since 1980.

Rogers struck with a sublime finish in the 13th minute when he took a touch to control Youri Tielemans’ ball over Forest’s defence before slotting it through goalkeeper Matz Sels’ legs.

Villa fans were still celebrating when Malen struck two minutes later, tapping in Ian Maatsen’s pinpoint cross.

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The tempo shifted in the second half however and Jota Silva pulled one back for Forest in the 57th minute when he latched onto the ball and swept the ball past goalkeeper Emi Martinez.