Aina made three tackles, one interception, four clearances and two recoveries during the encounter.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Nottingham Forest manager Oliver Glasner has praised his right-back, Ola Aina, for putting up an impressive performance despite being played out of position during their 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
He hailed the Super Eagles’ defender while speaking with Forest TV after the highly intriguing and entertaining encounter at Villa Park.
Igor Jesus’ late winner earned Forest their first victory at Aston Villa in 32 years and left the hosts still searching for a Premier League win.
Liam Delap opened the scoring for the visitors in the 46th minute of the league fixture, but his effort was cancelled out by Villa’s Alysson.
However, during the victory that marked Forest’s first Premier League win of the campaign under their new manager, Aina was deployed as a left-sided centre-back in a back three.
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Despite this, the Nigerian international put up a commendable display in his unfamiliar role, recording three tackles, one interception, four clearances and two recoveries during the match.
Speaking after the game, Glasner explained that the decision to play Aina in the unfamiliar position was made after he received confirmation of injuries to both of the club’s recognised central defenders on the eve of the match.
He said: “The circumstances we had yesterday, it was in the evening that I got the results of the scans and all of a sudden both centre-backs couldn’t play.”
Glasner added that he subsequently approached Aina and defender Ousmane Diomande to inform them of the change, asking Aina directly whether he believed he could adapt to the role.
“I knocked on Ola and Ousmane’s door and told them that they would start tomorrow in a back three. Especially with Ola, I had to ask him if he could imagine that this could work, and he said ‘I can’, and I knew he could.
“There are many challenges we had to overcome today, which is why I am really proud of the performance and the win,” the former Crystal Palace manager added.
