Forest 0-1 Leeds: Stach free kick ends 54-year wait

Leeds United won 0-1 at the City Ground thanks to an Anton Stach free kick on 88 minutes, in front of 30,739 supporters. The strike crept in at the near post and caught Matz Sels off his line. It was Leeds' first win at that ground since the 1971-72 season, fifty-four years ago.

It was also Oliver Glasner's first defeat in charge of Nottingham Forest, in his competitive bow. The Austrian had won five of his six previous competitive debuts in other jobs, so the run ended right here.

The match, minute by minute

• 25' Harry Wilson has a goal ruled out for offside
• 40' Milenkovic heads against the post; Igor Jesus fluffs the rebound
• 88' Stach: a free kick bent in from the edge of the box, inside the near post
• Bookings: Aina (Forest) on 18, Calvert-Lewin (Leeds) on 32, Jair Paula (Forest) on 52

Forest had the clearest chances and every one of them came from the same source. Milenkovic thumped a header against the post on 40 minutes and Igor Jesus failed to convert the rebound or two further headers. Sels, at the other end, had saved a Muharemovic effort before the decisive moment.

Glasner: it was one single situation

The manager did not hide his frustration, but he did not lose his composure either. He said it unfortunately went Leeds' way and that Stach took the free kick, that they knew he is a good striker of a dead ball and that is exactly why it was disappointing. He added a reading of the game that sums up his concern: there were very few chances, and every chance came from a set piece.

His conclusion was blunt: he believes they did enough to win and that one single situation decided the match.

The fifth manager in twelve months

Glasner was appointed on 6 July 2026 as the replacement for Vítor Pereira. He arrives from Crystal Palace, where in two and a half years he won the FA Cup, the Community Shield and the Conference League. He is Forest's fifth manager in twelve months, after Nuno Espírito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Pereira himself.

The club's summer was defined by a single deal. Elliot Anderson joined Manchester City for £116m in July 2026, on a five-year contract, after returning from the World Cup with England. The fee broke City's own spending record, previously held by Grealish in 2021, made Anderson the most expensive British footballer in history and stands as the biggest sale Forest have ever made.

The money has yet to show up on the pitch. Forest did not name a single new signing in their starting XI against Leeds, and Glasner had to answer for it: he said he is very confident they will bring in two more high-quality players, and that they do not do deals just to make up the numbers.

Trafford, Muharemovic and Wilson: the three Leeds debutants

Daniel Farke started three debutants, and all three left their mark. James Trafford, signed from Manchester City for a club record of around £40m, produced a superb save from a point-blank Igor Jesus header and blocked the follow-up in a scramble inside the box.

Tarik Muharemovic cost around £34m and Harry Wilson arrived on a free from Fulham. With the three of them on the pitch, Leeds reached nine hundred different players used in competitive football across their history. Wilson was replaced around the hour mark by Noah Okafor, and Sean Longstaff came on for Aaronson in the final ten minutes.

Farke and the forty-point message

The German took the chance to assess his match-winner from a distinctly unsentimental angle: he revealed that Stach had endured a difficult pre-season and was not at his best in the opening weeks, but that over the last ten days he had the feeling he was getting there.

And as soon as he was asked about targets, he went back to the same old number: forty points for safety, underlining how hard it is to establish yourself in the top flight. Leeds avoided relegation last season in their first year back, and their manager does not want three points in August to change the message.

What the opening weekend leaves behind

Forest are left with the uncomfortable feeling of having been the better side without winning, and with the warning their own manager flagged: if every chance comes from a set piece, there is a problem creating in open play that no signing solves on its own.

Leeds, by contrast, take away three points, a piece of history and confirmation that their goal is in safe hands. Nothing is won in August, but plenty of pain in May can be avoided.

"Fifty-four years without a win at the City Ground, and one free kick in the 88th minute was enough to wipe them all away."