Leeds United 3-1 Nottingham Forest: More than a must win
Aaronson was helpfully metaphorising the whole team's response to losing to Arsenal, so thanks to him for summing up the night. He didn't have to get kicked so much, and Leeds didn't have to win this game, but it's good that everybody involved got on with those things anyway.
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In New Zealand, Danny Hay was seen as 'the complete modern player'. He didn't become that at Leeds United, but he learned well from seeing what it looked like.
It might just be the sicko in me, the thrilled kid when Carl Shutt, not Eric Cantona, was the hero in Camp Nou in 1992/93. But if Leeds United's season comes down to Joel Piroe's finishing to keep us from finishing in the bottom three, I'll feel that prospect like a bolt of energy.
It can't really be a must win game in February, with thirteen matches more to follow and a six point gap to the nearest of three teams who have been seeking their own oblivion since opening day.
Permutations and ramifications can still complicate themselves after any outcome anyway. Defeat might inspire a redoubling of efforts: ending with a league title, as when Leeds lost 4-0 to Manchester City in 1992. Winning can still be followed by disaster, as when Leeds beat Nottingham Forest in 2023, went a goal up against Crystal Palace, and disintegrated. And those games were played in Aprils, not the relative early season luxury of the start of February.
But there are games when a team, level on points, comes to your town. When the rain has fallen all day, and floodlights are piercing the freezing night. When the opposing manager has growled that, "Elland Road is like most grounds now, they are not as hostile as they were thirty years ago," and his continuing thought that, "But in terms of the modern game, it is still hostile, it's got that real feel to it," has been drowned out, by hostility. When the two clubs hail two legendary managers who were legendary rivals, when a night under the lights once meant this fixture ended 3-7 the wrong way, when the previous week's performance — and 0-4 result — needs shaking out of the system.
There are games that are not must win, but which the winning would be so wonderful that you simply have to pray your team will do it. Leeds, from the kick off against Nottingham Forest on Friday night, started as if with angels beneath their wings, or on them, the left wing in particular, but that was only Gabriel Gudmundsson and Noah Okafor. And that was before the game tilted, turned, became magnetised by Ilia Gruev's left boot.
The Peacocks early plans had simple genius. Forest's right-back was a nineteen year old, Zach Abbott, playing his second Premier League game. Okafor and Gudmundsson flew at him and tortured him for ten minutes. Leeds, as against Newcastle and Everton recently, were pulling their first half trick of using an underwhelming teamsheet to disguise their fluid, unpredictable attacking. Abbott was disorientated as Okafor dominated his wing by starting in the centre, darting wide with Gudmundsson, and inviting Brenden Aaronson across to join in. Instead of balance, Leeds had two nominal right-backs, Jayden Bogle and James Justin, taking turns to back up Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the box.
The Tricky Trees' manager, Sean Dyche, after naming a back four, had to hastily re-log his team to defend 5-4-1. It actually worked for them. As Leeds tried to find another way through, the wrong players got possession and went wrong, giving it to Forest to break with. Or Forest tapped the ball around the trunk in their half, Ethan Ampadu taking charge of keeping them out of United's. When they did get through, Igor Jesus put a free header wide. Calvert-Lewin kept Leeds' end up, crashing a header off the crossbar, but the home team were going flat.
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Worse, the officials were getting involved. We were seeing too much of fourth official Andrew 'Can't stand the heat' Kitchen, the two linos — Edward 'Not so' Smart and Blake 'The Snake' Antrobus. Brenden Aaronson was getting kicked all over without any protection from the increasingly prominent referee, Peter 'What's funny that rhymes with this? Beats me 🤷🏻♂️' Bankes. The night was closing in on Leeds, threatening to be memorable, horribly.
Of all the players to steal the night's limelight and make it all about them, few were suspecting Ilia Gruev. He'd been hooked at half-time at home to Arsenal, which at least saved him from repeating the ninety minutes of misery he went through at their place. Now he took the ball from Pascal Struijk, scampered towards the halfway line, and delivered an arcing pass onto the eighteen yard line that dropped with comforting backspin alongside the stride of Bogle, who'd run from the right touchline on halfway and, in behind, slotted the ball first time past Forest's brand new goalkeeper. It's that one from Manchester City, not him or him, or him, the other one. We can talk another time about the finish by Bogle, but this goal belonged to our Bulgarian buddy.
Gruev began to swagger. With a switch of his hips, he hid the ball away from England's Elliot Anderson, unveiling it again for Gudmundsson and Okafor. Noah's arcing cross was cleared to Justin who one-two'd with Bogle, one-two'd with Aaronson — the two a swivel and flick that sent Justin to the byline — and while his low cross and/or shot was chested back to him by the goalie, he then had the mind to pass to Okafor at the edge of the six yard box, who finished for 2-0.
In five minutes the game was everything Sean Dyche didn't want it to be. Five minutes into the second half it was worse for him. Gruev was given time on the edge of Forest's area, almost goaded into shooting. Maybe they were right to, because it wasn't the best effort, but Calvert-Lewin had also got ready for an underwhelming hit. He ran forward, hurling himself across its path, multiplying the shot's possibilities by getting his chest to the ball and angling it beyond the keeper. This was more evidence that this couldn't be a 'must win' game: they don't get to 3-0 like this one.
That Calvert-Lewin's left tit can be a rival, in xG terms at least, for Ilia Gruev's left foot perhaps says something about Gruev's true level. But this performance — and most of his season — says much more. No, he's not got the quality to take on a midfield like Arsenal's. But there are few midfields like Arsenal's. Against more typical Premier League midfields, like the one composed here of Anderson and Ibrahim Sangaré, Gruev is more than fit for the fight. We tend to look too high when thinking about a Premier League level. Gruev, for the level of Leeds and Forest and perhaps a dozen other teams, is doing just fine.
Gruev wasn't doing fine when, in the 65th minute, Calvert-Lewin accidentally kicked him in the face and the game was delayed for his treatment. It's maybe just me, but when an already overworked midfielder has been flat on his back for ten minutes in the doctor's care and Sean Longstaff is available, I'd be tempted to sub him. But Gruev kept going, and kept playing superbly, right to the end, while Longstaff and Dan James were added alongside.
James was a welcome return, showing signs that if the worst does happen between now and May and Calvert-Lewin is lamed, his pace — or the skill that Okafor turned on in this game — can give Leeds different ways to play without a big man. Forest went the other way in this match, bringing on a new 6ft 6in striker and playing the way Dyche probably wanted all along. This big man got a goal — yes, a header — as Leeds fell flat after the long wait for Gruev's resurrection and the temptation, at three-up, of thinking the game was done. It was done, helped by Ola Aina, who with a Dyche-approved target waiting for service in the box opted to pepper the Kop with wayward shots.
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The game had been done for half an hour, since Sangaré had lost patience with Leeds oléing the ball around and steamed in to foul Bogle, who stepped aside like a slapstick expert and let him crash into Aaronson instead. Poor lad can't help being everybody's punching bag. He got up again anyway, covered in mud and ready for more. Brenden was helpfully metaphorising the whole team's response to losing to Arsenal, so thanks to him for summing up the night. He didn't have to get kicked so much, and Leeds didn't have to win this game, but it's good that everybody involved got on with those things anyway. ⭑彡
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