Aston Villa boss Unai Emery knows his side missed the opportunity to show they can be contenders at the top end of the Premier League after going down 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.
Villa were below their best as they lost for the first time in six games as Forest won thanks to goals from Ola Aina and Orel Mangala.
Emery’s side, who have enjoyed an excellent start to the season, could have moved above Arsenal and into the top four, but they fluffed their lines.
“Today was a key moment, if we could really be a contender to be in the top seven teams and we lost the opportunity,” Emery said. “I believe in the players, I know they can but we have to be very demanding. We can’t concede chances like we did today.
“If we want to be in the top seven teams we have to try to reduce the mistakes we made today.
“The key moment in 38 matches is every match. Today was a key moment to take some distance with the other teams and get in the top-four positions but we lost this opportunity, now the next match against Fulham next week is a challenge and it is again a key moment.”
Forest took a fifth-minute lead when Aina converted from 20 yards and they doubled their lead after a rare Emiliano Martinez error shortly after restart.
The Argentina World Cup winner won the Yashin Trophy, effectively making him the best goalkeeper in the world, at last week’s Ballon D’Or, but this effort will not be winning him any awards after he could only palm Martinez’s effort into his own net.
Emery added: “We are human and we can make a mistake. I never punish the mistakes of the players because I want to try to get the confidence of everybody, practising, trying to do everything well and when we are facing other teams we have to be better than them.
“But never punishing mistakes, not only for Emiliano, for everybody.”
Forest won for the first time since September 2 with an impressive performance where boss Steve Cooper won the tactical battle against Emery.
Villa played with a high line and Forest exposed them with their pace.
Cooper said: “The players massively followed the game plan. I said to them, I’ve got real gratitude to them for committing to the plan we put in place.
“We came up against a really in-form team with loads of good players and an excellent manager. You have to respect them, but you have to look at a plan where you can win.
“I’m really pleased that the goals we scored were from how we thought we could create chances. Once you get there, you want the players to back themselves to convert.
“Even though they had a lot of the ball, I never really thought we would concede. I never felt the goal was getting peppered. Defensively, we were excellent, both tactically and our defensive intuition backed up with desire and commitment.
“I’m really pleased with the players. They showed a great attitude to the plan. It was an incredible atmosphere to support the players’ performance. I thought today was a really good example of what we’ve become over the last couple of years, and I think that needs a bit of recognition.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
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