Leeds 3-1 Forest: Bogle, Okafor and Lewin strike in one-sided six-pointer

Leeds United provided a major boost to their hopes of Premier League safety and dented Nottingham Forest's cause with a comfortable 3-1 victory in Friday's six-pointer.

Match Report

Leeds United provided a major boost to their hopes of Premier League safety and dented Nottingham Forest's cause with a comfortable 3-1 victory in Friday's six-pointer.

Ahead of kick-off at Elland Road, Leeds and Forest were level on points and goal difference, both perched six points clear of 18th-placed West Ham.

But it was Daniel Farke's hosts that struck a mighty blow in the battle to avoid the drop, taking full control by the half-hour mark.

After Dominic Calvert-Lewin's towering header bounced off the crossbar, Ilia Gruev's pinpoint pass over the top released Jayden Bogle in the 26th minute, and he finished calmly past Forest debutant Stefan Ortega.

And just four minutes later, a lovely flick from Brenden Aaronson found James Justin on the right side of the penalty area. Ortega blocked Justin's initial shot back to him, but the former Leicester City man picked out Noah Okafor for a simple tap-in.

Forest – who had gone close at 0-0 through Nicolas Dominguez and Igor Jesus – were struggling for a foothold, and Calvert-Lewin made it 3-0 when he cleverly diverted Gruev's delivery home with his chest in the 49th minute.

After a glaring miss from Morato, Forest reduced the arrears through an 86th-minute header from substitute – and debutant – Lorenzo Lucca, but it was not enough to spark a fightback.

Leeds now boast a sizeable cushion to the relegation zone, but Forest could find themselves only three points clear of trouble on Saturday, when West Ham visit Burnley.

Data Debrief: More floodlit magic for Leeds

Remarkably, Leeds have now won all five of their Premier League night matches (starting at 19:30 or later) at Elland Road this season, as their home form continues to drag them towards safety.

Their latest home victory was sealed by Calvert-Lewin's unorthodox finish, which took him to 10 Premier League goals for the campaign.

It is the third time he has hit double figures within a single season in the competition (also 13 in 2019-20, 16 in 2020-21, both for Everton), and he is the first Englishman to score 10 league goals in their first campaign for Leeds since Matt Smith in 2013-14 (12 in the Championship).

The hosts' victory was richly deserved, as they registered 15 shots with a total expected goals (xG) value of 2.5. Forest had 16 shots, but mustered a mere 1.13 xG.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

19' Highlight from Leeds United vs Nottingham Forest

24' Highlight from Leeds United vs Nottingham Forest

26' GOAL! Leeds United 1-0 Nottingham Forest (Jayden Bogle)

31' GOAL! Leeds United 2-0 Nottingham Forest (James Justin)

49' GOAL! Leeds United 3-0 Nottingham Forest (Dominic Calvert-Lewin)

75' Match Event for Leeds United vs Nottingham Forest

86' GOAL! Leeds United 3-1 Nottingham Forest (Lorenzo Lucca)

Line-ups

Leeds United XI: Darlow, Calvert-Lewin, Justin, Joe Rodon, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Ampadu, Pascal Struijk, Jayden Bogle, Okafor, Ilia Gruev, Brenden Aaronson

Subs: Daniel James, Nmecha, Lucas Perri, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Joël Piroe, Sean Longstaff, Ao Tanaka, Jaka Bijol, Wilfried Gnonto

Nottingham Forest XI: Ortega, Aina, Sangare, Elliot Anderson, Milenkovic, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Igor Jesus, Morato, Zach Abbott

Subs: Gunn, Taiwo Awoniyi, Ryan Yates, Lorenzo Lucca, Dan Ndoye, Luca Netz, McAtee, Omari Hutchinson, Jair Cunha