- Nottingham Forest 1-1 Aston Villa at half-time
- Murillo’s own goal was in the 23rd minute
- Neco Williams equaliser was in the 38th minute
It was a balanced and hard-fought opening 45 minutes at the City Ground, as Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa went into the tunnel level at 1-1.
The deadlock was broken in the 23rd minute through a stroke of misfortune for the hosts, as a dangerous Villa delivery resulted in a Murillo own goal.
However, the home side showed impressive resilience, clawing their way back into the contest when Neco Williams rifled home a clinical equaliser in the 38th minute.
It was a stop-start for the first 15 minutes, with neither team able to get a foothold of the match. Aston Villa started to control the game, and looked threatening when passing into the pockets behind Nottingham Forest’s midfield.
Rogers low drilled cross in the 23rd minute was turned into Matz Sels’ net by centre-back Murillo, as the Villans continued to look dangerous.
After some poor defending leading the ball to not be cleared, Neco Williams was able to strike a low driven ball into the bottom corner to equalise. The Reds then grew into the game, gaining some confidence before the half-time whistle blew.
Here are ReadAstonVilla’s half-time ratings:
Marco Bizot – 6
Thrown into the action at the eleventh hour following Emiliano Martínez’s injury during the warm-up, the backup keeper enjoyed a relatively quiet introduction to the match. Aside from two routine saves on low efforts to his right, he was largely a spectator for much of the first period.
However, there was little he could do in the 38th minute when Neco Williams unleashed a near-post rocket that flew past him for the equaliser. Beyond his shot-stopping, the keeper was heavily involved in the flow of the game, acting as a frequent outlet for Aston Villa’s signature patient build-up play from the back.
Matty Cash – 6
Cash has been able to get forward in the first half, but unable to create many chances. His linkup play with John McGinn has been a positive, and he hasn’t had much to do defensively.
Victor Lindelöf – 7
The Swede has had the second most passes in the game, and has looked quite assured. Due to Forest’s lack of attacking play, he hasn’t much to do.
Pau Torres – 7
Like his centre-back partner, Torres has enjoyed having the ball. Having made the most passes, the Spaniard has been his usual progressive self.
Lucas Digne – 6
Digne seemed to struggle defensively at left-back. Omari Hutchinson has looked the Reds’ most dangerous player and has made the Frenchman’s life quite difficult. Going forward he has been able to hug the touchline and drag Ola Aina with him, given Rogers some space to work in.
Youri Tielemans – 6
Tielemans has looked a little sluggish on the ball in the first half, although he’s made a few strong challenges when needed.
Amadou Onana – 7
The Belgian has covered a lot of ground in the opening 45, and has been one of Villa’s better players. Despite being man-marked, he’s managed to control the play for Unai Emery’s side.
John McGinn – 8
McGinn has been Villa’s best player. As ever, he’s used his body to shrug off a number of challenges, and been the main creative outlet.
Ross Barkley – 6
Barkley has looked to be on his heels at times in the first half, having lost the ball a few times. Although he has been able to find himself a lot of space, he hasn’t made the most of it.
Morgan Rogers – 7
The 23-year-old has played a lot better than his performance against Bologna. His low driven cross led to the goal, and when driving forward, he’s looked threatening.
Ollie Watkins – 6
Watkins has had one very good chance that was saved from Sels, but other than that, the Englishman hasn’t been that involved in the game.
