One more win. One more win to turn a wonderful era for Aston Villa into one that will be remembered for ever.
There was pressure here, all right. If Nottingham Forest had prevailed, Villa players, fans and even Unai Emery himself would have been questioning everything they had done. Not now. Not now Villa are so close to the Europa League title, which would be the fifth of Emery’s career.
How fitting it was that John McGinn, who joined this club when they were in the Championship, should score twice and produce a barnstorming performance just when it was needed. He has remained while players have come and gone and if he were to lift the trophy against Freiburg in the Final in Istanbul next month, his status as a Villa great would be assured. McGinn’s late double secured the result after earlier goals from Ollie Watkins and Emi Buendia – from the penalty spot – had given them the edge.
What about Forest? They came here protecting a 10-match unbeaten run but it was one game too many. There were too many key players missing for Vitor Pereira’s men to do themselves justice and they will rue the injury Morgan Gibbs-White sustained at Chelsea last Monday. With him, it might have been different. Instead, Forest must now look to secure Premier League survival by defeating Newcastle on Sunday.
If fans were angry at Villa for their pathetic display in losing at home to Tottenham last Sunday, they put it to one side.
The Villa team bus was greeted by about 3,000 fans who welcomed the team with chants and fireworks, turning the early evening air claret and blue.
John McGinn scored twice as Aston Villa booked their place in the Europa League final
Ollie Watkins levelled the tie from close range after fine work from Emi Buendia
Buendia put Aston Villa ahead from the penalty spot after Nikola Milenkovic pulled back Pau Torres
When the home side arrived for the warm-up, the roar from the Holte End was as though they had scored a goal. It would have stirred the blood of Villa fan Prince William, who was deep in conversation with England boss Thomas Tuchel in the tunnel.
Try as they may have, Forest could not start Gibbs-White. The playmaker’s facial wound was too sore to risk, even though he wore a superhero-style mask during a pre-match kickabout with fellow substitutes Dan Ndoye and Ibrahim Sangare.
Villa were still stinging from their first leg defeat last week, when they believed Elliot Anderson should have been sent off for a fearsome tackle on Watkins. As Forest gathered for a huddle close to their fans just before kick-off, Emi Martinez charged over to move them away.
Both sides were nervous. McGinn and Forest’s Jair Cunha hoofed hurriedly when they had plenty of time and nobody could settle, least of all Unai Emery. The Villa boss was twice sent back to his technical area by referee Glenn Nyberg in the first half, and he was relieved when Gibbs-White’s replacement James McAtee found Omari Hutchinson with a fine pass, only for the winger to fire wide.
Slowly but surely, Villa took control. Stefan Ortega tipped over Pau Torres’ header from Matty Cash’s corner and was soon being urged by the officials to be quicker at restarts.
Aggression bubbled just below the surface. Anderson and Morgan Rogers nearly squared up to one another after a late challenge from the Villa man, but thought better of it. Then Rogers found Buendia, whose low shot was too close to Ortega.
Forest were struggling to escape their own half as Villa won set piece after set piece. When McGinn tried a quick free-kick to Watkins, the referee halted the move. Outrage all round, and Villa were even angrier when Morato was only booked for a late lunge on Rogers.
Morato was in the wars again when he clashed heads with Watkins as they contested a corner. Watkins returned with his forehead bandaged but if Forest thought the bump would weaken him, they were wrong.
Nikola Milenkovic and Cunha both missed chances to clear and the ball found its way to Buendia. The Argentine can frustrate fans but now they loved him, after fabulous close control took him past Anderson and Cunha inside the box. The cut-back was perfect, and Watkins did the rest from inside the six-yard box. Cue bedlam in the Holte End and now Forest really were wobbling.
Prince William celebrated from the stands as Aston Villa took full control of the semi-final
McGinn sealed Aston Villa’s place in the final with two goals in the closing stages
Forest were left ruing the facial injuries sustained by Morgan Gibbs-White on Monday, which ultimately left their star watching proceedings from the bench
McGinn shrugged off Nicolas Dominguez and found Watkins, though this time Ortega kept out the shot. Though McAtee is neat in possession, he is no Gibbs-White and few were surprised when he was replaced by the more gritty Ryan Yates for the second half. Pereira switched to 3-5-2 and hoped Yates would give his midfield a little more backbone but his tactical switch could not alter the pattern of this game.
Villa continued to force Forest back and 10 minutes into the second half, VAR ruled in their favour when Milenkovic was deemed to have hauled back Torres close to the six-yard line. When Buendia’s kick beat Ortega’s dive, the Prince of Wales leapt from his seat, pumping his fists. The Prince would have been preparing to celebrate again when a long throw reached McGinn but this time the strike was straight at Ortega.
How Pereira would have loved to introduce Gibbs-White. All his main man could do was stare glumly from the bench, heavy scars across his face. Instead, the Forest boss turned to Lorenzo Lucca, largely ignored since joining on loan from Napoli in January. He replaced Wood, who seconds earlier had been denied by Martinez when clean through – Forest’s best opportunity of the match.
Villa settled it with 13 minutes to go with a fine goal. Rogers nodded Torres’ long pass into Watkins’ path, McGinn’s overlapping run was spotted and in a flash the ball had disappeared into the bottom left corner. On to Istanbul and a moment of destiny.
