Leeds United’s dominant start to the new campaign continued in impressive fashion as Daniel Farke’s men marched into the third round of the EFL Cup with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Coming just days after their gritty 1-0 win at the exact same venue in the Premier League opening weekend, second-half strikes from Dan James and James Justin sealed back-to-back victories against their Midlands rivals in less than 72 hours.
However, the sting of consecutive defeats has prompted frustration in the Forest camp, with club legends and pundits rounding on the officiating crew following Tuesday night’s cup exit.
The Controversial Goal That Sealed the Tie
The defining flashpoint of the match arrived in the 75th minute when James Justin doubled Leeds’ lead to put the game firmly out of reach.
Following a chaotic goal-mouth scramble inside the six-yard box, the ball bundled over the line to spark wild celebrations in the away end. But upon closer inspection, former Nottingham Forest striker Robert Earnshaw took to ITV to voice furious objections, claiming that the goal should never have stood due to a blatant offside infraction.
According to Earnshaw, Justin’s initial effort deflected off Leeds forward Lukas Nmecha, who was standing in an active offside position right in the line of sight of the goalkeeper and defenders.
“That is absolutely offside,” Earnshaw vented on ITV. “You see here as Justin hits it, it hits Nmecha, and he is offside. Nmecha is in front of the goalkeeper and the defender on the floor, and it definitely hits him on the way in. Absolutely no doubt that would have been disallowed with VAR because Williams stops it going in first time, then it goes in after that.”
While Earnshaw aggressively pointed the finger at Nmecha’s positioning, he notably glossed over the preceding chaos—including claims that Forest defender Neco Williams had handled the ball directly on the goal line during the penalty box scramble.
Leeds Unbothered by the Noise
From a Leeds United perspective, the complaints from the City Ground faithful will fall on deaf ears.
Football fans across Elland Road know all too well what it feels like to be on the wrong end of dubious refereeing decisions and costly VAR errors, having suffered their fair share of heartbreak over recent seasons. Taking a slice of good fortune is simply part of the game, especially when Daniel Farke’s side completely outplayed their opponents across both fixtures.
Ultimately, whether the goal would have survived a VAR review or not is rendered academic by the overall run of play. Over the course of 180 minutes of football at the City Ground, Leeds proved themselves to be the superior team on both Saturday and Tuesday night.
Looking Ahead to Brentford
With the cup tie successfully navigated, manager Daniel Farke and his squad can immediately turn their full attention back to Premier League action.
The Whites will return to the familiar confines of Elland Road this coming Sunday to host Brentford in a high-stakes league clash—where VAR will be fully operational once again. For Nottingham Forest, the bitter pill of consecutive defeats must be swallowed as they lick their wounds and turn their focus toward domestic redemption!
