Aston Villa vs. Nottingham Forest: player grades in 1-0 victory

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06: Steve Bruce, Manager of Aston Villa during the The Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Aston Villa and Peterborough United at Villa Park on January 6, 2018 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06: Steve Bruce, Manager of Aston Villa during the The Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Aston Villa and Peterborough United at Villa Park on January 6, 2018 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Aston Villa collected a hard-fought three points at the City Ground. Scott Hogan’s lone header, assisted by Robert Snodgrass, gave Villa the victory over Nottingham Forest.

What a solid three points from the claret and blue! Steve Bruce set-up in the usual 4-2-3-1 hybrid – a system Nottingham Forest just could not penetrate. Despite a cool 61% possession, Forest mustered four shots on target, three of the tame variety.

This match had 30 fouls. THIRTY fouls. 20 from the home side, 10 from Villa. Robert Snodgrass and Jack Grealish were particularly effective in drawing the whistle, thus creating a good break from Forest’s heavy possession.

Scott Hogan scored in the 17th-minute from an excellent near-post run. None other than Robert Snodgrass whipped an in-swinging cross that Hogan buried into the net. Aston Villa held on for all three points. Birkir Bjarnason played a noteworthy defensive midfield after replacing the injured Glenn Whelan at half-time.

Without further ado, player grades:

Aston Villa have a full week off, hosting Barnsley on the 20th. All data provided by WhoScored.