Kyle Newbould: I watched Leeds United's 1-0 win vs Nottingham Forest - One big difference from last season is clear
Key takeaways from Leeds United’s Premier League opening-weekend victory at the City Ground.
Leeds United kickstarted their 2026/27 Premier League season in perfect fashion with a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Anton Stach's late free-kick turned what looked set to be one point into three brilliant ones at the City Ground.
There was nothing to separate Leeds and their hosts in the first-half, although Harry Wilson did see a clever finish ruled out for offside. Forest came out the better side after half-time but Daniel Farke’s side defended well and waited for their moment.
That moment came in the 88th minute, with Stach whipping a free-kick in at goalkeeper Matz Sels’ near-post. Below are three of the YEP’s key takeaways from a brilliant opening-weekend win.
Wilson’s intelligent positioning
In six pre-season friendlies and Saturday’s Premier League opener, new signing Wilson is yet to register a goal or assist but look beyond those basic numbers and it’s clear he’s settled in well. The most obvious positive to come from the Welshman is his positional intelligence, which caused Forest a lot of early headaches.
Take the disallowed goal, for example, with Wilson drifting into a more central role and taking Forest’s left-sided centre-back Murillo with him which allowed Bogle acres of space out wide. The summer arrival was then in the box to meet his teammate's ball but was a couple of yards ahead of play.
The Leeds pair and Joe Rodon are already dove-tailing really well down that side which is credit to how quickly Wilson has picked up what’s been asked of him by Farke. Goals and assists will come soon enough but for now, moments like the movement before that disallowed effort are encouraging.
Farke substitution decision pays off
Leeds spent much of the second-half on Saturday defending and struggled to build any real momentum in the final third, with Farke deciding to start mixing things up just past the hour mark. He brought Noah Okafor on for Wilson, with Brenden Aaronson moving across to the right, before introducing Sean Longstaff on 82 minutes.
A like-for-like change would have seen Stach removed but Longstaff replaced Aaronson instead, with Leeds shoring things up in central areas. With Wilson already off the pitch, it also kept one of Farke's two major set-piece threats in play and whether that was part of his thinking or not, it worked.
Leeds didn’t look much like scoring from open play in those fatigue-filled final minutes but the winning of a scrappy free-kick provided that chance and Stach was still around to make it count. Some weak goalkeeping from Forest’s Matz Sels certainly helped.
New season difference clear
What’s most promising from Saturday’s victory is the feeling Leeds simply would not have won that same game last season, but they’ve improved one key area immeasurably. James Trafford heard chants of ‘what a waste of money’ throughout the first-half but proved his worth in key - if not headline-grabbing - moments.
Think back to the early save of Igor Jesus’ header, or the multiple crosses claimed when pressure was on. Trafford won’t be receiving any Player of the Match trophies for his efforts but he was plenty good enough when called upon and Leeds have enough high-quality match-winners to take their moment.
Leeds only kept two Premier League clean sheets away from home last season, at Liverpool and Crystal Palace, but with Trafford and Muharemovic joining Joe Rodon and Jaka Bijol there is scope for many more this season. And then all it takes is a moment from Stach or someone else at the other end.