Despite Martínez’s heroics, sixth-placed Villa were denied victory when Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga scored for Forest later on.
That sealed Forest’s sixth win in nine games and lifted them from fifth to fourth in the Premier League table, above Manchester City.
“Today is a great moment,” said forestry director Nuno Espirito Santo. “Let’s enjoy it together, all the fans and players. But we know that Brentford [next Saturday] It’s going to be very hard.
“Now we are trying to work on that, that is the most important thing, game by game. I think we should enjoy it because they are special moments. The previous game, today. We want to do it together, us and the fans.”
Asked if Forest can compete for a top-four finish, Nuno added: “We are competing against every team in the Premier League, it’s not about that.
“It’s about preparing [for] the next, focusing on the task at hand and realizing that you accomplished nothing [yet]”.
As Forest celebrated at the City Ground, Villa manager Unai Emery felt his team were denied “a clear penalty” in the first half when Elliot Anderson appeared to pull on Morgan Rogers’ left arm.
“It’s a big mistake by VAR,” Emery said.
“Please. Okay, not the referee. I respect the referee and I respect the VAR, but the VAR is there to help the referees. It is a clear penalty. Where is the VAR?”