In a fiery Europa League semi-final first leg at the City Ground, Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson walked a tightrope—and got away with it. Former Aston Villa goalkeeper and European Cup winner Nigel Spink didn't mince words, calling the midfielder a "lucky lad" after a crunching tackle on Ollie Watkins left the Villa striker writhing in pain.
The incident unfolded in the first half of Thursday's 1-0 defeat for Villa, with Anderson's high, studs-up challenge on Watkins's ankle going unpunished by the referee. Replays showed the Forest man clattering into his England teammate with force, sparking outrage from Villa boss Unai Emery, who described the VAR performance as "so, so bad" for failing to intervene.
Spink, a veteran of Villa's 1982 European Cup triumph, weighed in on the controversy. "I'm not an advocate for the modern style of football and how it's refereed, but he was out of control, his foot was in the air and his studs were up," he told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast. "Technically, it at least should have been a yellow—and I thought he could have got another yellow for an incident not long after. He's a lucky lad that he stayed on the pitch, but you have to ride your luck and deal with these things."
Despite the narrow first-leg defeat, Spink remains bullish about Villa's chances in the return leg at Villa Park. "Villa's season has been amazing," he said. "They have done fantastically to be in the Champions League spots and are doing so well in the Europa League. They can take full confidence into next week."
Spink highlighted a pivotal moment that could define the tie: Emi Martinez's crucial save. "With these big ties, you look back at defining moments. I think Emi Martinez's save will go down as keeping Villa in the competition if they can perform a little bit better in attack next Thursday. It wasn't quite as sharp as they can be."
As Villa look to overturn the deficit, all eyes will be on whether Anderson's luck holds—or if Villa's sharpness returns when it matters most.