The job is not done yet, far from it. But on a rainswept evening in West Yorkshire, the collective response from everyone associated with Leeds United for each of their goals left you in no doubt that this had the whiff of a season-defining night.
With Leeds and Nottingham Forest sitting an advantageous but not decisive six points above the relegation zone before kick-off, and 18th-placed West Ham away at Burnley on Saturday, it felt like both these famous old clubs knew victory could dramatically shape the remaining three months of the campaign.
For 20 minutes or so, it was unpredictable, end to end and pretty breathless viewing. But a four-minute period which encapsulated Forest’s season to date was decisive as they spectacularly fell apart and conceded twice midway through the first half before Dominic Calvert-Lewin settled this quintessential relegation six-pointer shortly after half-time.
The consequences of this result will fully be known only by the time the weekend is out. If West Ham do slip up, this could well be the night that goes a long way towards securing Premier League survival for Leeds. If they continue this sort of form at Elland Road – 22 of their 29 points have come at home – they will probably be fine no matter what.
This venue somehow becomes even more intimidating under the lights, too. In Leeds’ past 22 league games at this venue that kicked off in the evening, they have won 19 and not lost a single one. “I’m very proud,” Daniel Farke, the manager, said. “Sometimes it feels like there’s a game where it’s just a bit more important than the others. This will do a lot for our confidence and belief. It’s a massive win.”
It will be Sean Dyche and Forest who watch on nervously on Saturday . For all the good work they have done of late with eight points from their past four games, a West Ham victory at Turf Moor makes things fascinating once again. Not that Leeds, their supporters and Farke, who deserves immense credit for this mid-season turnaround, will care right now.
The game began at a frenetic pace despite horrendous conditions. Both sides clearly knew the importance of victory, both enjoying spells on the front foot inside the opening quarter. The first real chance came the way of Forest though, as Nicolás Domínguez forced a wonderful save from Karl Darlow after a counterattack before the visitors were stung at the other end.
With the pitch heavy, the players covered in mud and Elland Road rocking under the lights, the game had a distinct early Premier League years feel. So perhaps it was fitting that the opening goal came from a simple, old-fashioned long ball over the top by Ilia Gruev, who picked the run of Jayden Bogle to perfection to allow the wingback to slot past Stefan Ortega for his first Premier League goal for Leeds.
Four minutes later, Leeds doubled their advantage in far more intricate fashion. Some magnificent buildup play led to the tireless Brenden Aaronson threading through James Justin and, while his shot was saved by Ortega, he had the presence of mind to square the rebound for Noah Okafor, who tapped into an empty net for his first goal since October. Having more than held their own for almost half an hour, Forest were two goals behind in the blink of an eye. Dyche was furiously trying to instil some life back into his players from the touchline, shell-shocked by Leeds’ double.
“They’re wise enough to know the basics and they didn’t do that,” Dyche said before offering a steadfast position on Forest’s prospects. “When we got here we were two points inside the relegation zone and now we’re six points out of it. My messages will stay the same.”
Forest had to start well after the break but they did the opposite. More Leeds pressure led to the third goal, four minutes after the restart, as a curling cross from Gruev was chested out of Ortega’s path and into the net by Calvert-Lewin for his 10th top-flight goal of the season.
That is his best goalscoring return since 2020-21 when he was an England international. No Englishman has more goals in the Premier League this season – and Elland Road, clearly enjoying themselves by this point, serenaded their No 9 with chants about an international recall.
Dyche rang the changes as the hour mark approached. Whether that was simply to stem the flow of Leeds’ attacking chances or try to haul his side back into contention, it did not have the desired effect.
It was, in truth, a meek showing from Forest aside from that encouraging opening quarter. They at least grabbed some consolation when new signing Lorenzo Lucca scored his first Premier League goal by heading in an Omari Hutchinson cross but by then the damage had been done.
