5-5

*Tammy Abraham scored four times for Aston Villa in a 10-goal thriller but they could only draw against 10-man Nottingham Forest.*

Forest had led 2-0 and 3-2 in the first half through Lewis Grabban, Joao Carvalho and Matthew Cash’s goals but Abraham’s first-half treble put Villa level at half-time.

Joe Lolley’s long-range shot restored the visitors’ lead shortly after the break, before Tobias Figueiredo was sent off and Abraham capitalised, heading in from Jack Grealish’s free-kick to make it 4-4.

Villa then took the lead for the first time when Anwar El Ghazi curled in, but Grabban’s near-post finish against the club where he was on loan last season earned a remarkable late point for Forest, who scored from all five of their efforts on target.

Incredibly, the hosts had the ball in the net twice more in the closing stages, but first El Ghazi was adjudged to have used his hand and then Abraham’s stoppage-time effort was ruled out for offside.

It would have meant an improbable fifth goal of the game for the 21-year-old Chelsea loanee, who had already registered his first hat-trick in senior football, reaching double figures for the season after only 14 appearances.

Forest squandered leads on three occasions, while Villa only led once in the entire match - yet still the teams could not be separated after 90 minutes. Here is how the chaos unfolded…

* 3 mins: Grabban taps Forest in front (0-1)
* 6 mins: Carvalho slots in from Lolley’s good ball (0-2)
* 11 mins: Abraham heads in his first (1-2)
* 14 mins: The ball hits Abraham on its way in as Villa level (2-2)
* 22 mins: Cash races through Villa’s porous defence to restore the lead (2-3)
* 36 mins: Abraham nets from the spot after Jack Robinson fouls Yannick Bolasie (3-3)
* 51 mins: Lolley’s super strike puts Forest back in front (3-4)
* 68 mins: Figueiredo dismissed for a bad foul on John McGinn (red card, 3-4)
* 71 mins: Abraham heads in his fourth (4-4)
* 75 mins: El Ghazi gives Villa the lead for the first time (5-4)
* 82 mins: Grabban finds the bottom corner (5-5)

Goals, goals, goals

Villa have now scored 12 times in three matches, after Sunday’s lively 4-2 win over local rivals Birmingham City followed their impressive 3-0 win at Derby County.

But conceding goals had not previously been something visitors Forest were known for - Aitor Karanka’s men arrived at Villa Park on a run of three consecutive clean sheets.

At the end of a breathless encounter, the two sides remained three points apart in the Championship table, with eighth-placed Villa still unbeaten at home since Dean Smith’s arrival on 10 October.

Villa have taken 13 points from a possible 21 since he took charge.

‘Great to watch on the sofa’

It was a first professional hat-trick for Abraham and the England international did his best to sum up the extraordinary match.

“These kind of games are great to watch at home on the sofa because it’s really entertaining,” he told BBC WM 95.6. “But when you’re on the pitch it’s just end to end and you have to keep getting ready for a chance.”

Villa boss Smith pointed out that his side had 26 attempts on goal compared to eight for the visitors, adding that keeper Orjan
Nyland was not at his busiest.

“I don’t think our goalkeeper’s made a save,” he said. “We’re devastated by the fifth goal because that’s something we should’ve been better at.”

Forest manager Karanka told BBC Radio Nottingham: “It’s been a crazy game but we can’t forget we’ve played against one of the best teams, with better players, and we were attacking even with 10 men.”