Farke keeps Leeds grounded despite promising Premier League start

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Daniel Farke has demanded sustained progress from Leeds United following their 1-0 opening weekend victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Leeds kicked off their Premier League campaign in dramatic style, with an 88th-minute winner from Anton Stach securing the three points at the City Ground. 

It was far from a perfect performance from Leeds, who were fortunate not to concede either side of the break, before Stach produced a magical moment in the dying minutes, squeezing his free-kick through the arms of Matz Sels.

Leeds have now won their opening Premier League game for the third successive campaign, marking their joint-longest run in the top-flight, having also done so from 2000-01 to 2002-03.

“It’s still a long road,” Farke told Sky Sports. “We need to collect 40 points, we are not naive. 

“The last time this club was able to have two solid seasons at this level, you will perhaps find it in black and white photos.

“But I’m very happy with the result. Especially an away win at a very difficult ground and a tight game. A clean sheet too. 

“It was a game of different periods, we started on front foot. Both teams had situations where they put pressure on the opponent.

“But we won this game because we defended well. It could have gone the other way, but I’m happy we can convert our pre-season form into the season.”

Leeds have now won five of their last eight Premier League games (D2 L1), with only Arsenal (18) collecting more points in the top-flight since the start of April than their 17.

— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 22, 2026

Farke was also full of praise for Stach, adding: “We talk so much about set pieces nowadays being important, but they always were.

“We wanted players there who had good deliveries. Anton is perhaps not a beautiful as Juninho, but he is b***** effective.”

Indeed, Stach’s five goals from outside the box is more than any other player has managed in the Premier League since the start of last season, while no player has more goals from direct free-kicks in that time than his four.

Oliver Glasner, meanwhile, began his tenure as Forest head coach with a defeat, extending the Tricky Trees’ poor record in season openers.

Forest have now lost the opening match of a league season in six of their last eight campaigns (W1 D1), while they have only won one of their last 12 home league matches (D7 L4).

“Everybody gave their best,” Glasner told Sky Sports. “The players worked very hard, intense and wanted to get the win. 

“We’re learning from this defeat. We’re at the beginning of this journey and not burying our heads in the sand.

“Unfortunately, we lost, but I saw many encouraging things today. This is the way we decided to go, this is the way we continue to go.”

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