Aston Villa’s difficult Premier League start continued with a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Villa Park.
Alysson finally ended Villa’s league scoring drought, but Liam Delap and Igor Jesus secured Forest’s first win of the season.
The result leaves Unai Emery’s side still searching for a first Premier League victory after four matches.
Our full Aston Villa 1-2 Nottingham Forest match report covered the key moments, but the overnight national reaction has now shifted towards the wider state of Emery’s rebuilt squad.
The Times questions Aston Villa rebuild
The Times offered one of the more concerning assessments of Villa’s current position.
Its report suggested Emery’s side still look like a team trying to find their feet following significant summer changes, with Forest appearing more settled and physically imposing for long periods. Read The Times’ Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest report
That assessment comes despite Villa showing a very different side of themselves in the Champions League victory over Club Brugge earlier in the week.
The challenge for Emery is now producing that level consistently in domestic competition.
Guardian highlights poor Aston Villa second half
The Guardian also concentrated heavily on Villa’s performance after the break.
Its report highlighted Emery accepting responsibility for the defeat after Forest scored almost immediately after half-time and then found a late winner. Read The Guardian’s Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest report
Alysson briefly changed the mood when he headed Villa level, but the hosts were later reduced to ten men after Ian Maatsen suffered an ankle injury.
Our latest Ian Maatsen and Pau Torres injury update covered both setbacks after neither defender was able to complete the match.
Emery also felt James McAtee should have been sent off for the challenge on Maatsen, although he refused to use the incident as an excuse for what he considered a poor second-half display.
Nicolas Jackson comes under scrutiny
Nicolas Jackson has also attracted attention after another frustrating afternoon.
The striker was substituted at half-time after receiving a first-half booking, with Emery later explaining that the Villa bench had been warned Jackson was at risk of another yellow card.
TalkSPORT has since focused on Jackson’s disciplinary record, with Jason Cundy criticising the forward’s tendency to collect avoidable bookings. Read talkSPORT’s Nicolas Jackson reaction
Jackson had only recently received significant backing from John McGinn, who tipped the summer signing to become a major player for Villa after opening his account against Club Brugge.
You can read McGinn’s verdict on Nicolas Jackson here.
The bigger issue for Villa is now finding consistency from their new-look attack.
Aston Villa must respond quickly
There were still positives for Emery.
Alysson made a major impact from the bench, while Johan Manzambi and Ibrahim Mbaye gained further senior minutes.
But the wider national verdict is difficult to ignore.
Villa have shown flashes of quality, particularly in Europe, yet their Premier League performances remain inconsistent and Emery is still trying to settle a substantially changed squad.
Saturday’s defeat also created further problems through the injuries to Maatsen and Pau.
Villa now need a response in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Coventry City.
The result will not fix their Premier League position, but another strong cup performance would at least offer evidence that the victory in Bruges was more than an isolated high point.
