Nottingham Forest vs Leeds: Stach's late free-kick settles it

Anton Stach scored an 88th-minute free-kick at the City Ground, and Matz Sels was caught completely off guard at the near post. Leeds left with the points from Nottingham Forest vs Leeds, while Oliver Glasner's first Premier League game in charge of Nottingham Forest ended in defeat.

Forest's missed chances

The late goal came after a match that Forest had chances to avoid losing. Igor Jesus had two big headed chances, James Trafford made a smart first-half save to deny him from close range, and Ola Aina saw a goalbound header clawed out by Matz Sels.

Sky Sports' match report said, "Anton Stach's stunning late free-kick snatched the points for Leeds as Oliver Glasner lost his first Premier League game in charge of Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground." The same report added, "The Belgian goalkeeper will look at his positioning and footwork as crucial for the winner."

The late set piece and the wider concern

Stach's finish fit a recent run that has not been flashy, but has been effective enough. He had already scored in his previous league outing, and his recent Premier League rating was 6.9. Leeds had also come in with three wins, one draw and one loss in their last five across all competitions, then two wins, one draw and one loss in their last four Premier League matches.

Forest's own league form before this game was mixed, with results of DLDW, and last season they finished 16th in the Premier League. Glasner's first league outing did not fix that in one go, but the performance still gave Forest enough moments to feel they let this one slip. The record will say Leeds won it through Stach's 88th-minute free-kick, and the decisive mistake belonged to Sels at the near post.