Neco Williams celebratesGetty Images

Neco Williams scored his first goal since September to equalise for Nottingham Forest

At a glance

  • Murillo own goal gives Aston Villa the lead

  • Williams levels for Forest before the break

  • Rogers hits the bar for Villa in second half

  • PLAYER RATER

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter at the City Ground

Nottingham Forest edged further clear of the Premier League relegation zone with a battling draw against Aston Villa.

Vitor Pereira's side are three points above the bottom three, with Tottenham's defeat at Sunderland, after Neco Williams cancelled out Murillo's own goal.

Morgan Rogers clipped the bar and blazed over for Villa in a potential dress rehearsal for a Europa League semi-final.

A point moved Villa level with third-placed Manchester United but a draw offers little clarity for the sides with different domestic ambitions.

Villa lost Emi Martinez to injury in the warm-up, the goalkeeper being replaced by Marco Bizot, yet struck first.

Forest benefitted from Martim Fernandes' outrageous own goal in Porto on Thursday but were on the wrong end this time when Murillo clumsily bundled Rogers' cross past Matz Sels.

Rogers hit the bar for Villa as they chased a second but Williams levelled seven minutes before the break when he drilled in low from 18 yards.

Bizot kept Villa level in the second half, turning the ball away after Matty Cash deflected it goalwards, and an excellent Sels save thwarted John McGinn.

Rogers then missed a golden chance when he blazed over from 10 yards after Sels saved Ross Barkley's effort and Ollie Watkins, chasing his 100th Villa goal, also fired over with 11 minutes left.

More to follow.

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10 Pure perfection

26 M. Sels
3 N. Williams
5 Murillo
31 N. Milenković
34 O. Aina
8 E. Anderson
6 I. Sangaré
7 C. Hudson-Odoi
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21 O. Hutchinson
19 Igor Jesus

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14 D. Ndoye
11 C. Wood
22 R. Yates
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