Nottingham Forest gained their first win in seven matches with a victory over in-form Aston Villa at the City Ground.
Ola Aina gave Forest a fifth-minute lead with his first goal for the club, powerfully side-footing into the net from 25 yards after Anthony Elanga's burst down the left was followed by Harry Toffolo's pass.
Villa would have gone third in the Premier League with the three points, but instead they lost in the league for the first time since 3 September when they were beaten 3-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.
At 1-0, Nicolo Zanolo had a chance to grab an equaliser for the visitors, but his shot was parried by Forest debutant goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos who also saved from Ollie Watkins.
Forest doubled their lead just after the restart when Orel Mangala's powerful 25-yard strike embarrassed Villa's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Martinez, winner of the Yashin Trophy best goalkeeper prize at the Ballon d'Or awards last Monday, got a strong hand to the effort from Mangala, but the Argentine could not stop the ball crossing the line.
The victory takes Forest up from 16th to 12th in the Premier League table, while Villa stay fifth.
Follow radio and text commentary of Sunday's Premier League actionThe match paused in the 47th minute as players, managers, officials and supporters paid tribute to Nottingham Panthers ice hockey player Adam Johnson, following his recent deathGoalkeeper change pays off for Forest
For Forest, this marked was a welcome return to form after they had drawn four times and lost twice since winning 1-0 at Chelsea on 2 September.
It was also vindication of a big decision by boss Steve Cooper to change his goalkeeper.
American Matt Turner had played all of Forest's 11 matches this season but had conceded five goals in his past two appearances, including an error in the 3-0 loss to Liverpool when he ran out of his penalty area, misjudged the bounce and gifted Mohamed Salah an easy goal.
Cooper handed a club debut to 29-year-old Greece international Vlachodimos, who signed from Benfica on transfer deadline day in September, and the goalkeeper did well to frustrate a Villa side who began the weekend as the joint highest scorers in the Premier League.
With Forest leading, Vlachodimos saved Zaniolo's first-half effort and also a shot from Watkins within seconds of the second half starting.
Those interventions proved crucial as the hosts doubled their advantage less than a minute after the Watkins attempt through Mangala's first goal since April.
Villa fail to convert possession into goals
For Villa, this was a rare off day as they suffered their first loss in seven matches in all competitions.
But there is no doubt the club are in a much stronger position than 12 months ago when Unai Emery replaced the sacked Steven Gerrard.
Emery's first game in charge came on 6 November, 2022, and brought a 3-1 win over Manchester United. The former Arsenal boss transformed their season from what appeared to be a relegation battle before guiding them into seventh in the table and European qualification for the first time in 13 years.
This defeat was only his 14th in 45 matches in all competitions and only the fifth time Villa had been beaten in 17 games in 2023-24.
Despite having far more of the ball, with 74% possession, Villa could not find a way through an organised backline, with Moussa Niakhate and Murillo defending excellently throughout for the home side.
England striker Watkins should have got his sixth Premier League goal of the campaign but failed to get a good connection on a header.
Leon Bailey fired wastefully over, Moussa Diaby has a shot saved and both Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne missed the target on a frustrating day for Villa.
Player of the match
ToffoloHarry Toffolo
with an average of 8.19
Nottingham Forest
Squad number15Player nameToffolo
Squad number43Player nameAina
Squad number19Player nameNiakhaté
Squad number40Player nameMurillo
Squad number5Player nameMangala
Squad number9Player nameAwoniyi
Squad number23Player nameVlachodimos
Squad number7Player nameN Williams
Squad number21Player nameElanga
Squad number16Player nameDomínguez
Squad number6Player nameSangaré
Squad number10Player nameGibbs-White
Squad number24Player nameAurier
Squad number28Player nameDanilo
Squad number22Player nameYates
Aston Villa
Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
Squad number14Player nameP Torres
Squad number12Player nameDigne
Squad number11Player nameWatkins
Squad number2Player nameCash
Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
Squad number44Player nameKamara
Squad number8Player nameTielemans
Squad number4Player nameKonsa
Squad number19Player nameDiaby
Squad number3Player nameDiego Carlos
Squad number31Player nameBailey
Squad number32Player nameDendoncker
Squad number1Player nameE Martínez
Squad number22Player nameZaniolo
Line-ups
Nottm Forest
Formation 4-3-3
23Vlachodimos43AinaSubstituted forN Williamsat 86'minutes19Niakhaté40Santiago Costa dos Santos15ToffoloSubstituted forAurierat 71'minutes6Sangaré5Mangala16DomínguezSubstituted forYatesat 87'minutes10Gibbs-White9AwoniyiSubstituted forDaniloat 82'minutesBooked at 88mins21ElangaSubstitutes
1Turner3Tavares7N Williams8Kouyaté12Nascimento dos Santos22Yates24Aurier28Danilo30BolyAston Villa
Formation 4-4-2
1E Martínez2CashSubstituted forTielemansat 59'minutes4Konsa14P Torres12Digne7McGinn44KamaraBooked at 64minsSubstituted forDiego Carlosat 78'minutes6Douglas LuizSubstituted forDendonckerat 86'minutes22ZanioloSubstituted forBaileyat 45'minutes19Diaby11WatkinsSubstitutes
3Diego Carlos8Tielemans9Traoré15Moreno16Chambers17Lenglet25Olsen31Bailey32DendonckerReferee:Jarred Gillett
Attendance:29,313
Live Text
Match ends, Nottingham Forest 2, Aston Villa 0.
Second Half ends, Nottingham Forest 2, Aston Villa 0.
Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest).
Foul by Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa).
Ibrahim Sangaré (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Danilo (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card.
Offside, Nottingham Forest. Anthony Elanga tries a through ball, but Danilo is caught offside.
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Ryan Yates replaces Nicolás Domínguez.
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Neco Williams replaces Ola Aina.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Leander Dendoncker replaces Douglas Luiz.
Attempt blocked. John McGinn (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Moussa Diaby with a cross.
Offside, Nottingham Forest. Morgan Gibbs-White tries a through ball, but Danilo is caught offside.
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Danilo replaces Taiwo Awoniyi.
Offside, Nottingham Forest. Murillo tries a through ball, but Morgan Gibbs-White is caught offside.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Murillo.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Anthony Elanga.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Diego Carlos replaces Boubacar Kamara.
Attempt missed. Leon Bailey (Aston Villa) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Lucas Digne.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.