A new year, the same authority.

After the winning run ended at Arsenal, Aston Villa returned to Villa Park and did exactly what mature sides do. They took control, strangled transitions, and dealt with Nottingham Forest without drama.

Forest pulled one back, but it never felt like a turning point. Villa remained composed, dictated the tempo, and reasserted themselves through midfield dominance, intelligent pressing, and clinical moments at the right time.

This post-mortem focuses on the substance rather than the scoreline. Kamara’s immediate impact. Tielemans running the game. McGinn delivering again. Watkins trusting himself and finishing instinctively.

More importantly, it examines the bigger picture. Villa absorbed the Arsenal defeat, learned from it, and moved on. No overreaction. No hangover. Just control.

This is what good teams look like at home. And Villa Park is now very clearly their ground.

UTV

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Credits:

David Michael - @myoldmansaid 

Chris Budd - @BUDD_music

Phillip Shaw - @prsgame

Music production & creation - David Michael

My Old Man Said - https://www.myoldmansaid.com

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