Aston Villa booked their first European final since 1982 in style as they blew the doors off Nottingham Forest at Villa Park with a rampant 4-0 win.
For all the moans, groans, boos, and jeers that clung to Villa’s players after being handsomely turned over at this same ground by Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday, this was as electric as it has been in many years and now a Europa League final in Istanbul awaits.
For Forest, they walked into a storm and never managed to find a way out on a chastening evening that ended their hopes of Champions League football for next season.
A brace from John McGinn helped Aston Villa book their place in the 2026 Europa League final
PLENTY FOR TUCHEL TO PONDER
England boss Thomas Tuchel was part of a star-studded directors’ box, that also featured the Prince of Wales, and he certainly departed with lots to ponder.
For one, did Ollie Watkins finally establish himself as the best-of-the-rest strikers behind Harry Kane?
Secondly, was this the blueprint of how to take Elliot Anderson out of a game?
Then there was the audition of Ezri Konsa, the performance of Morgan Rogers, and the unfortunate no-show of Morgan Gibbs-White, who cut a devastated figure when this one drew to a close.
Let’s start with Watkins and while he was Jonny on the spot to tap in the opener, his all-around play was a throwback to how he looked for England at the Euros. This was Watkins at his best.
He pressed with intensity, played on the shoulder, looked confident, had an energy, a swagger, and even got the Terry Butcher bandage to mark his bravery in the air.
It was his deft touch that helped seal the game, a perfectly-weighted lay-off to an onrushing John McGinn, the man of the match, that made it 3-0.
Multiple trips to Villa Park this season had me scratching my head with Watkins, pondering whether he was playing his way out of World Cup contention.
Then he was left out by Tuchel for England’s 35-man squad in March. That looked to be it.
But ‘fire’ in his belly and performances like this on the very biggest stage provided Tuchel with a timely reminder of what Watkins can do, rather than walking away focusing on what he can’t.
England manager Thomas Tuchel headed to Villa Park to watch multiple Three Lions’ stars
Ollie Watkins (left) bolstered his World Cup hopes but it was a rare off night for Elliot Anderson
And then there was Anderson on the other side, trying to cover two or three jobs and finding himself exposed like few times we’ve seen this season.
His £100million-plus price tag, that has Manchester United, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and more circling, is a sign of both his progress in the past 12 months but also his ability.
Yet, here was Anderson, brutally exposed as Forest’s heads spun from the moment they emerged from the tunnel.
Anderson has shown so often his ability to dictate and run a game, grabbing it by the scruff of its neck and it was he who masterminded England Under-21’s Euros success last summer, with Tuchel blown away that day in Bratislava.
But here was a blueprint of what can happen when Anderson doesn’t have help around him, doesn’t get support, doesn’t get time on the ball. The evidence was galling.
England have better players to put around him than Nottingham Forest, that’s not up for debate.
But defining his role will be key, as will playing to his strengths. Do that and England can thrive. Throw him into a Lion’s den, though, and you’ll get a similar ravaging to what took place at Villa Park.
Thomas, take notes…
VICTOR THE GREAT
When the team-sheet dropped and there was Victor Lindelof’s name, that alone raised some eyebrows.
Then it emerged he would be starting in midfield for Villa for the very first time. Raise those eyebrows a touch more.
So, pre match, Unai Emery got asked about the move, only to, in typical Emery fashion, say that the Swede is ‘not a goalkeeper’.
That awkward exchange parked, this experiment was an overwhelming success, no question about it.
Where Forest’s midfield looked erratic, unable to establish any tempo or control, Lindelof looked unruffled, the quarter-back at the base of midfield, before sliding effortlessly into a right centre back role on occasion, too.
Victor Lindelof playing in midfield bamboozled Nottingham Forest as Unai Emery’s call paid off
His protection confused Forest with their midfield assignments. By contrast, Lindelof’s team-mates felt comfortable to attack at will with a Swedish safety net there to bail them out.
In 2017, Jose Mourinho proposed playing Lindelof, who came through the youth ranks at Benfica as a midfielder, in the middle of the park to give his Manchester United side greater control and balance.
Six years later, Erik ten Hag had the same idea.
So, perhaps there should have been surprise at the ‘surprise’. Mourinho, Ten Hag, and Emery all saw something many of us didn’t. Here, it was he who was a key reason Villa are off to Istanbul.
REDEMPTION FOR HUTCHINSON
What was Nuno Espirito Santo thinking when he elected to leave Omari Hutchinson out of Forest’s Europa League squad at the start of this season?
For both the club and the player that probably feels a lifetime ago. We’ve burned our way through Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche since then, but Hutchinson once again made a mockery of that decision way back in September.
Hutchinson, who joined from Ipswich Town last summer for £37.5million, has looked Forest’s most dangerous forward for months now and was their biggest threat here – albeit in what was a night where all the focus will be on their shortcomings.
But had Dyche not intervened to bring him in from the Europa League cold in February to add him to their squad for the knockout stages, Hutchinson would have been watching this one from the stands like the despondent Forest fans.
While he ended up on the losing side, Forest have struck gold with the 22-year-old and Vitor Pereira must platform him as a focal point of a side that should be much improved next season.
But seriously, what on earth was Nuno thinking snubbing him in the first place?
The fact Omari Hutchinson wasn’t in Forest’s European squad earlier this season is laughable
UEFA NEEDS VILLA PARK
THE ferocity of the atmosphere inside Villa Park for this barnstormer of a Europa League semi-final only reinforced the belief that European football is a much better product with Villa Park in the equation.
The Holte End roared like a baying mob in the opening 45 minutes as Villa swarmed Forest, evoking memories of great nights here against Inter Milan, Anderlecht, Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich.
The City Ground is a brilliant arena, don’t get me wrong, but few grounds can compete with Villa Park when it comes to setting the stage for a classic.
UEFA reshuffled the European format to deliver greater entrainment and more tantalising match-ups.
Well, consider this a timely reminder of just why Villa Park is one of English football’s greatest gifts to our friends at UEFA.
