Super Eagles fullback Ola Aina made his long-awaited return to Premier League action on Saturday, featuring for 69 minutes in Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 loss to in-form Aston Villa at Villa Park, Bold Sports reports.
It was Aina’s first appearance since August 31, ending a lengthy injury layoff that began while on international duty with Nigeria. The defender suffered a hamstring injury during the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualifying clash against South Africa on September 9 in Bloemfontein, a setback that required surgery and sidelined him for several months.
Forest head coach Sean Dyche handed the Nigerian his fourth start of the season, deploying him in his customary right-back role. Aina lined up alongside Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo in central defence, with Neco Williams operating on the left.
Despite a resilient defensive showing early on, Forest were put under sustained pressure by the hosts in the first half. Aston Villa’s dominance eventually told just before the break when Ollie Watkins broke the deadlock, scoring his seventh league goal of the season and his third in three matches to give Villa a deserved 1-0 lead.
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The hosts doubled their advantage four minutes into the second half as Matty Cash slipped a clever pass into the penalty area for John McGinn, who calmly side-footed the ball past goalkeeper John Victor from close range, making it 2-0.
Nottingham Forest briefly threatened a comeback in the 61st minute. Dilane Bakwa produced a moment of quality, threading a perfectly weighted pass through to Morgan Gibbs-White, who kept his composure to fire the ball beyond Emiliano Martinez and reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Shortly after the goal, Villa manager Unai Emery made a double substitution, introducing Jadon Sancho and Lucas Digne. Dyche also rang the changes, with Aina and Bakwa making way for Nicolas Savona and James McAtee.
The momentum Forest hoped to build was quickly halted. Just four minutes later, Villa restored their two-goal cushion in emphatic fashion as Youri Tielemans launched a long ball forward to McGinn, who capitalised on John Victor’s advanced position and struck from long range into an empty net. The goal marked McGinn’s first Premier League brace and sealed all three points for the home side.
The defeat compounds Forest’s struggles, as they have now lost four consecutive league matches and sit 17th in the table with 18 points, only four points clear of the relegation zone.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, continue their impressive campaign. The victory lifts Emery’s side to second place in the Premier League standings with 42 points, just three behind leaders Arsenal
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