Anton Stach’s late free‑kick hands Leeds victory at Forest in Glasner’s first competitive game
Anton Stach scored a late, match‑deciding free‑kick for Leeds at Nottingham Forest on 22 August 2026, denying Oliver Glasner a winning start in his first competitive game in charge of the club. The strike came with only a couple of minutes of normal time remaining and ended what had been a low‑chance contest.
Glasner, Forest’s fifth head coach in less than 12 months, watched from the home technical area before kick‑off as his new reign began. The new boss’s debut did not produce the desired result and these remain early days for the club; Nuno Espírito Santo had been in charge when Forest beat Brentford 3-1 in their opening game last season with eight of the same starting XI. More signings are expected before the transfer window closes next month.
The decisive moment followed a clumsy challenge by Nikola Milenkovic on Stach on the edge of the penalty area, which led to the free‑kick. Stach whipped the set‑piece in at Matz Sels’s near post; Sels got a glove to the effort but the ball ended up wrapped around his right post as the travelling Leeds support erupted.
Leeds provided the greater threat for long spells and had an early goal ruled out when Harry Wilson, the Welsh arrival whose signing was held up as evidence of Leeds’s ambition, was flagged offside after latching on to Jayden Bogle’s pass into the box. Glasner applauded when Neco Williams met Ola Aina’s cross approaching the first‑half interval; that move later produced James McAtee’s recycled cross, which saw Milenkovic and Jair Cunha combine to head against James Trafford’s post, though the Leeds goalkeeper was largely untroubled.
Tarik Muharemovic, the £34m signing from Sassuolo, started and produced a notable first outing; in the second half Sels needed a strong left hand to keep out a Muharemovic header that looked destined for the top corner. Muharemovic, alongside Joe Rodon and Jaka Bijol, formed a three‑man defence and was described as having a fine debut as Leeds largely limited Forest to sporadic moments in an underwhelming opener for the hosts.
Oliver Glasner omitted both Ousmane Diomande, a £34m arrival from Sporting, and Xaver Schlager from his starting XI, though Schlager later entered to make his debut. Chris Wood came off the bench and skied a first‑time shot from a bobbling Morgan Gibbs‑White pass, while every outfield Leeds player joined the celebrations at full time as the away end basked in the evening sun and the Forest areas had long since emptied.
Leeds and manager Daniel Farke left Nottingham with confidence, while Forest face a quick chance for redemption: Leeds will visit again in a Carabao Cup rematch on Tuesday.
