Leeds United defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the opening match of the 2026-27 Premier League season on August 22. Anton Stach scored the winning goal with a free-kick in the 88th minute to secure victory for Leeds at Nottingham's City Ground [1, 2, 3, 4].
The game marked Oliver Glasner's first match as Nottingham Forest manager, following a season in which Forest went through four managers. Glasner said, "There is no button to press. There are still a lot of things to do," reflecting his aim to bring stability to the club [5]. Forest showed some promising attacking moments but could not find a breakthrough and ultimately fell to the late goal [5, 3].
Forest’s new signings, including Ousmane Diomande and Xaver Schlager, both came off the bench during the match. The club is expected to make more signings before the transfer window closes next month [5, 3]. Diomande joined Forest for about £34 million [5, 3].
Leeds United spent heavily this summer, investing around €100 million in transfers. New arrivals include goalkeeper James Trafford, Harry Wilson, Tarik Muharemovic, and Nico Elvedi, with Muharemovic arriving for approximately €40 million [3, 4]. Leeds manager Daniel Farke praised his players after the win, saying, "I'm very happy and have many compliments for my players" [1].
Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu stated the club’s ambition: "We want to be a Premier League club next season. We want to achieve that target and then get to a better place" [4].
The teams will next prepare for the upcoming fixtures as the season continues to unfold.
