How Morgan Gibbs-White dismantled Aston Villa to give Oliver Glasner his first Nottingham Forest win

If Thomas Tuchel needed any reminder of exactly what Morgan Gibbs-White has to offer, the evidence was clear as day in Nottingham Forest’s win over Aston Villa.

Now it is over to the England boss. Surely (surely!) he has to include the Reds’ No.10 when he names his squad for the Three Lions’ upcoming fixtures on Friday.

Gibbs-White perhaps won’t be holding his breath. For whatever reason the national team manager doesn’t appear to be much of a fan.

Perhaps the 26-year-old’s second-half display at Villa Park can help to change Tuchel’s mind. Having missed the cut for this summer’s World Cup, Gibbs-White is doing exactly what he pledged to do and has bounced back stronger.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Get all the Nottingham Forest latest via our Facebook page

There was a dignified response from the playmaker when he was left out of the group to travel across the Atlantic, despite his stunning form at the back end of last season. He said at the time: “It’s unfortunate, it’s disappointing but you have to take these losses and turn them into wins. I’ll bounce back from this stronger.

“It was just unfortunate other people were ahead of me. It is what it is. It’s an incredible squad and I think it’s my fault for picking the hardest position there is in England! I’ve jumped over many hurdles in my career and this will just be another one.”

Gibbs-White is having to adapt to a new manager and a different way of playing under Reds head coach Oliver Glasner. But he remains at the very heart of this Forest team and is arguably their most important player.

Against Villa, Gibbs-White was integral to the visitors’ terrific second half as they clinched their first victory of the season. He had been relatively quiet before the break but came alive upon the restart, as did the visitors in general.

Liam Delap and Igor Jesus got the goals, and this was very much a team effort in the West Midlands as big contributions were made across the pitch. But there is no denying how much of a difference Gibbs-White made as Glasner’s side took control.

The Reds’ talisman registered a game-high seven chances created, including setting up Jesus for the winner with a sumptuous flick. In doing so he became the first Forest player to create seven-plus chances and tee up a goal in a Premier League game since the club’s return to the top flight.

Gibbs-White has either scored or assisted in each of his last eight Premier League away games. It is a run only Erling Haaland (September 2023), Robin van Persie (May 2011) and Andrew Cole (December 1993) have bettered - all with nine goal involvements apiece.

There is a beauty and a passion to the way Gibbs-White plays. When he almost fell flat on his face trying to catch a celebrating Jesus on Saturday, it summed up the emotions of every supporter in the away end.

If Tuchel needs any encouragement to hand the Forest ace a call-up he need only look at the stats. Gibbs-White has created four big chances so far this season, more than any other player in the Premier League.

At Villa Park, Gibbs-White got a lot of joy down the right flank and completed 16 passes in the final third. According to stats experts Opta, in the first half just one of his touches came in the penalty area but as he grew into the game after the interval he had four in that part of the pitch.

It all tied into how Glasner went about getting the better of Unai Emery once again. Since taking up post in England, the Austrian is yet to lose to the Villa boss in eight attempts across all competitions - a run stretching back through his time at Crystal Palace and now with Forest.

Saturday saw a well-executed plan away from home. Amid an impressive 2.28 xG, the Reds racked up 22 shots at goal, seven of which were on target and had 32 touches in their opponents’ box

Gibbs-White was integral to the cause, as he so often is in the Garibaldi. Take note, Tuchel.

Choose Nottingham Post as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.