Nottingham Forest go fourth with late win over Aston Villa

Nottingham Forest striker Anthony Elanga broke his season-long scoring drought with a stoppage-time winner as his side beat Aston Villa 2-1 to go fourth in the Premier League on Saturday.

Forest trailed to a Jhon Duran header until the 87th minute but Nikola Milenkovic equalised before substitute Elanga slotted home to send the City Ground fans wild.

Nuno Espirito-Santo's side jumped above Manchester City into the top four with 28 points from 16 games while Villa, who were on course to go fourth themselves, stay sixth with 25.

"It is incredible and long may that continue. The season is really long and I just want the fans to enjoy the journey," said Elanga, who had not scored since February.

Forest have now won six of their last nine league games and after spending the last two seasons fighting off relegation look ready to compete for European qualification.

After a totally forgettable opening half that doused the atmosphere, the second period caught fire after a remarkable save by Emi Martinez – one of the best in Premier League history according to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp.

Forest's Nicolas Dominguez could hardly believe his eyes as the Argentina World Cup winner showed amazing reflexes to somehow claw his close-range header off the line.

A minute later Villa's first attempt at goal resulted in them taking the lead as Duran met John McGinn's clipped cross with an instinctive header that flew past keeper Matz Sels.

Duran, who has been frustrated at being a substitute for most of the campaign, has now scored in each of his five starts in all competitions this season.

It looked as though Forest's luck was out when Chris Wood thought he had equalised but his effort was chalked off for the tightest of offside decisions after a lengthy VAR check decided that Elanga's shoulder had been offside before he crossed.

Forest refused to be denied though and Milenkovic, who scored the opener in the win at Manchester United last week, met a centre by Morgan Gibbs-White with his head and this time Martinez could not keep the ball out despite his best efforts.

Elanga looked razor-sharp after coming off the bench and won it for Forest when he met a cut-back from Elliot Anderson.

It was a crushing blow for Villa have now conceded 25 match-winning goals in the 90th minute or later in the Premier League, a total only exceeded by Tottenham Hotspur (27).