Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest Highlights, Premier League: AVFC Pull Off Fighting Win, Climb To Sixth In Standings

The first match of the day for matchday 31 - Arsenal vs Everton started at Goodison Park, with the Gunners taking advantage in the match. The Toffees are trying to take an early lead but they have not been successful in doing that so far.

15' - EVE 0-0 ARS

Ipswich Town Vs Wolves - Starts at 7:30 pm IST.

Crystal Palace Vs Brighton - Starts at 7:30 pm IST.

West Ham United Vs Bournemouth - Starts at 7:30 pm IST.

Aston Villa Vs Nottingham Forest - Starts at 10:00 pm IST.

Referee Darren England issued a yellow card to Jake O'Brien of Everton for a heavy challenge in the 18th minute of the game. Shortly after, he blew his whistle as Leandro Trossard of Arsenal committed a foul for dangerous play. Trossard was making a run towards the goal, but the defender managed to get back in time to make a challenge.

30' - EVE 0-0 ARS

Darren England blew his whistle after Idrissa Gueye from Everton fouled one of his opponents with a strong tackle. Shortly after, a well-placed pass found Leandro Trossard of Arsenal in plenty of space during a fast counterattack. Trossard brought the ball under control and fired it past the helpless goalkeeper from close range.

40' - EVE 0-1 ARS

Six minutes were added to the first half. Leandro Trossard of Arsenal came close to scoring when he connected with a pass inside the box, but he should have done better than directing his shot straight at Jordan Pickford. Declan Rice, also from Arsenal, reacted quickly to get to the rebound and took a shot from the edge of the box; however, he failed to get the ball past the defenders between him and the goal. Iliman Ndiaye from Everton attempted a strike from the edge of the box, but he hit it poorly, sending the ball well over the bar.

Half-Time - EVE 0-1 ARS

The Premier League 2024-25 matches for matchday 31 will be live-streamed via the JioHotstar app and website in India.

Myles Lewis-Skelly of Arsenal held his opponent to prevent him from getting the ball, and the referee blew for a foul after observing the whole situation. Everton was awarded a penalty! Jorginho of Arsenal received a yellow card.

47' - EVE 0-1 ARS

Iliman Ndiaye took a penalty for Everton, striking it low into the right corner of the net, leaving goalkeeper David Raya with no chance.

53' - EVE 1-1 ARS

Darren England issued a yellow card to James Tarkowski of Everton, who was not surprised, as the tackle was particularly hard and late. Declan Rice from Arsenal then took the resulting free kick from the edge of the box, but his shot went straight at Jordan Pickford. Tim Iroegbunam was substituted, and David Moyes provided final tactical instructions to James Garner of Everton.

69' - EVE 1-1 ARS

Martin Odegaard of Arsenal showed excellent awareness in the penalty box and took a first-time shot. However, he doesn’t connect properly, and the ball sails well wide of the left post. Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal then cut inside his marker and unleashed a powerful shot from inside the box. The ball headed towards the center of the goal, but it was denied by a brilliant save from Jordan Pickford.

87' - EVE 1-1 ARS

Four minutes were added by the fourth official in the second half but that was not enough for both teams to score a goal in the match. The match ended with 1-1 draw at Goodison Park in Liverpool.

Everton helped their Merseyside rivals Liverpool in the English Premier League title race by taking points off second-place Arsenal. The 1-1 draw at Goodison Park left Mikel Arteta's Gunners 11 points behind the Reds with seven games remaining in the season. Arne Slot's men will be on the road for their game in hand, against Fulham is on Sunday.

Full-Time - EVE 1-1 ARS

Crystal Palace vs Brighton

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson; Lerma, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Kamada, Wharton, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze, Mateta. Subs: Turner, Ward, Nketiah, Franca, Clyne, Hughes, Esse, Chilwell, Devenny.

Brighton XI: Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Gomez, Baleba, O’Riley; Minteh, Mitoma, Welbeck. Subs: Rushworth, March, Gruda, Pedro, Adingra, Cashin, Ayari, Wieffer, Tasker.

Ipswich Town vs Wolves

Ipswich XI: Palmer; Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Townsend; Morsy, Cajuste; Johnson, Broadhead, Enciso; Delap. Subs: Walton, Davis, Woolfenden, Phillips, Chaplin, Taylor, Hirst, Philogene, Clarke.

Wolves XI: Sa; Doherty, Agbadou, T. Gomes; Semedo. J.Gomes, André, Aït-Nouri; Munetsi, Bellegarde; Strand Larsen. Subs: Bentley, Bueno, Hwang, R. Gomes, Doyle, Sarabia, Forbs, Guedes, Djiga.

West Ham vs Bournemouth

West Ham XI: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Scarles; Alvarez, Soucek, Ward-Prowse; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus. Subs: Fabianski, Soler, Coufal, Fullkrug, Mavropanos, Guilherme, Rodriguez, Emerson, Ferguson.

Bournemouth XI: Arrizabalaga; Smith, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Adams, Scott, Cook; Outtara, Semenyo, Evanlison. Subs: Dennis, Senesi, Brooks, Soler, Jebbison, Araujo, Hill, Silcott-Duberry, Winterburn.

Three games started at the same time in the Premier League - Crystal Palace Vs Brighton, Ipswich Town Vs Wolves, and West Ham United Vs AFC Bournemouth.

Eberechi Eze made a great play, releasing Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace in space near the edge of the box. Mateta noticed the goalkeeper off his line and skillfully placed the ball into the top right corner of the net. Meanwhile, Pervis Estupinan from Brighton quickly aimed for goal after collecting a rebound, but his long-range shot was easily blocked by a defender.

3' - CRY 1-0 BHA

Dara O'Shea delivered a great pass to Ipswich Town's Liam Delap, who scored with a shot into the right side of the goal. Ipswich Town have taken an early lead in the game.

17' - IPS 1-0 WOL

Evanlison opened the scoring at London Stadium. In the 38th minute, the Brazilian feasted on an Alphonse Areola mistake. Bournemouth lead West Ham 1-0, going into the mid-match interval.

A few minutes ago, not so far from London Stadium, Danny Welbeck equalised for Brighton with a crafty goal, beating Crystal Palace defenders with a fine run at Selhurst Park. 1-1 at the 31st minute and has stayed so at the end of the first half.

Over at Portman Road, Liam Delap's 16th-minute strike remains the difference between Ipswich and Wolves at half-time.

Crystal Palace have the ideal riposte to Brighton's equaliser. Eberechi Eze cuts in from the left flank and finds Daniel Munoz on the opposite end in the 55th minute. Muniz conjures a low, stinging shot into the bottom far corner brilliantly and Palace regain the lead.

Ipswich squander their one-goal lead to the Wolves in the 72nd minute. Jorgen Strand Larsen crosses it in from the left to Pablo Sarabia, who dodges his marker and finds the target to equalise for the visitors. A vital goal, that in the context of the relegation battle. Still some time in the game though.

West Ham suffer a defensive failure and Bournemouth latch on to draw level. The tourists take a quick free-kick on the halfway line and it's floated into the box, where Dean Huijsen taps it through to Evanilson at the far post, who completes a brace with an easy 79th minute goal. West Ham 2-2 Bournemouth.

A really scrappy end at Selhurst Park, where Crystal Palace somehow eke out a 2-1 win over Brighton with nine men. There were three red cards in the game, including two at the fag end, but the hosts manage to emerge victorious.

At Portman Road, Wolves seal a 2-1 win at Ipswich Town that puts the former 12 points clear of the relegation zone and spell the end for the hosts' hopes to avoid the drop. Ipswich stand stand 18th with 20 points, 12 behind the Wanderers.

And at the London Stadium, West Ham and Bournemouth play out a 2-2 stalemate as both clubs' winless spells continue.

The final Premier League game of a heady Saturday evening gets underway at Villa park. Both, the seventh-placed Aston Villa and third-pegged Nottingham Forest are eyeing berths in next season's Champions League, and a win tonight would help either's cause.

Aston Villa take a well-deserved lead in the 13th minute and double their advantage in the 15th. Morgan Rogers receives Youri Tielemans' ball calmly before an effortless finish past Nottingham goalie Matz Sels. Even before the visitors have a chance to regroup, the Villans strike again via Donyell Malen, who makes the most of an Ian Maatsen pass to finish the simplest of goals he can hope to score.

Nottingham Forest are now beginning to discover their rhythm, holding their defensive structure and opening up enterprising offensive moves. But given that they are two goals down already, it might take a lot more for them to alter the result. Here's a stat to reckon with: Forest have been beaten in all 78 of their previous English Premier League games where they trailed by two or more goals.

The half-time whistle is blown after a solitary minute of added time and Aston Villa go into the shed content with a two-goal advantage. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, have their work cut out and cannot afford to concede another goal.

Play resumes after the mid-game interval and Aston Villa are now attacking from right to left. But it's Nottingham Forest who do the early running, earning an early setpiece in a potentially dangerous position. It comes to nought, however.

A strong spell of play in the second half results in a well-earned goal for Nottingham Forest. Jota Silva and Elliot Anderson jostle for the ball in the Villa box, but Jota eventually wins it and drills it past AVFC's Argentine goalie Emiliano Martinez in the 57th minute. Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest.

This is a pretty good comeback from Forest in the second half. The visitors have created a number of chances after cutting the deficit down to one and with 10 minutes of normal time to come, need one clinical finish in the final third to make this resurgence count.

The full-time whistle is blown, and Aston Villa emerge victorious with a narrow but vital 2-1 margin at Villa park. Nottingham Forest fought hard in the second half and right till the end, but could not find the equaliser. The win takes Villa to sixth in the standings with 51 points, level with Manchester City. Forest stay third with 57 points.