Latest Nottingham Forest verdict as Sean Dyche's Reds topple Leeds United 3-1 in Premier League clash at the City Ground
08:00, 10 Nov 2025
Elliot Anderson (second from left) celebrates with Neco Williams, Taiwo Awoniyi and Omari Hutchinson after scoring for Nottingham Forest against Leeds United
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Elliot Anderson (second from left) celebrates with Neco Williams, Taiwo Awoniyi and Omari Hutchinson after scoring for Nottingham Forest against Leeds United(Image: Getty)
Make no mistake, this was a big win for Nottingham Forest. You could feel it all around the City Ground the second the final whistle went on Sunday afternoon.
A weight was lifted. It was joy, relief and hope all rolled into one. A feeling that things will get better.
The Reds still have some way to go to get themselves out of trouble and a lot of work to do to fully find their groove. But there have been positive signs under Sean Dyche, and Sunday’s 3-1 triumph over Leeds United was testament to that.
Forest needed this one. It has been a long time coming. Such scenes of players embracing each other on the pitch, soaking in the applause and dancing little jigs with injured teammates before heading down the tunnel have been rare this season.
There will be no getting carried away after a first Premier League win since the opening day of the campaign but this is certainly a building block for Dyche’s men. Below, NottinghamshireLive looks at the big talking points from the Reds’ final game before the international break.
Super subs
Dyche got his changes spot on against Leeds. The second half had gone flat but a triple substitution on the hour mark injected some life into the match.
Omari Hutchinson, Taiwo Awoniyi and Ryan Yates all made a difference from off the bench. It was 1-1 when they were introduced; less than 10 minutes later, the hosts were in front.
It has not been an easy start to life Trentside for Hutchinson. He arrived with a big price tag (£37.5 million) but is yet to start a Premier League fixture and is not in Forest’s Europa League squad.
He is young, though, and Dyche has made clear the transfer fee should not concern him. The Reds boss has also urged the winger to lean on him and his staff, and to recognise his time will come.
On this evidence, the 22-year-old will surely earn more minutes as the season progresses. He was a menace during his half-hour on the pitch, setting up Morgan Gibbs-White and winning the penalty from which Elliot Anderson scored.
“He's been through a tough period recently,” Gibbs-White said of Hutchinson in an interview with Sky Sports (via the BBC). “He stayed resilient and strong. He proved why he should be in the 11.”
Morgan’s moment
Hutchinson wasn’t the only one with a point to prove. Gibbs-White did the same as he delivered the perfect response to being left out of the England squad.
Any disappointment on his part was put to bed and he focused on the task in hand. It was much more like it from Forest’s No.10.
After having a shot saved inside the opening couple of minutes, his moment came with little more than 20 to go. It was a delightful header from Hutchinson’s peach of a cross and put his team in front.
The smile on his face was as wide as the Trent as he was enveloped by his teammates. He enjoyed that, and the rest of the players clearly knew what it meant to him.
Gibbs-White has now scored three in five games under Dyche - an excellent return. He is not back to his peak yet but perhaps he is revving up.
He remains a crucial player for the Reds. Not only is he capable of stepping up when they need him, he can also take others along with him.
When referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot after Hutchinson had been fouled, Gibbs-White - having just been substituted to a standing ovation - gave a little fist-pump from the touchline. He cheered Anderson after the midfielder had thumped in the penalty, then was first on the pitch to give him a hug after the game had finished.
Perhaps missing out on the Three Lions this time around will provide Gibbs-White with an opportunity to properly reset and with motivation to push on when the season resumes. As Dyche stressed afterwards, there is no reason why he cannot get back into his country’s squad - but he will need some more big performances to do so.
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Midfield options
Speaking of big performances, Anderson has regularly chipped in with them and he was superb again on Sunday. It was an emphatic spot-kick from the England man to put the seal on the victory.
His partner in the centre of the pitch, Ibrahim Sangare, also deserves a mention. He was excellent, too.
Sangare has been with the club for two years now, but Sunday saw him net his first goal in the Garibaldi. He took it well, being quick to respond when goalkeeper Lucas Perri could only palm a Dan Ndoye cross into his path.
Sangare also did well against Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday night. Anderson had been rested for that one and had remained in the UK, rather than travel to Austria, to recover from a few knocks.
Dyche has good options in that area of the pitch in particular. A case could easily have been made to start Yates against Leeds, while Nicolas Dominguez showed his versatility by doing a job on the left - even if that is not where he is most effective.
There is still Douglas Luiz to come back into the equation, too. Forest’s squad depth has been questioned of late, but midfield is one department where they are nicely stocked.
Shoots of recovery
The campaign is still relatively young, but there was undoubtedly a lot riding on Sunday. Some had gone so far as to label it a must-win.
Forest, in 19th, are still in the relegation zone but picking up the three points closed the gap. They are now one adrift of Burnley and West Ham United and two away from Leeds and Fulham. Indeed, they are only three points behind Newcastle United.
Two wins, two draws and one defeat is an encouraging return from Dyche’s first few weeks at the helm. He has acknowledged plenty of issues remain to be addressed but the foundations are there.
With a significant to-do list, turning around the Reds’ form and position in the table was never going to be an overnight job. Sunday’s victory was certainly not a classic, but it should provide the dressing room with some much-needed confidence for when the action resumes after the international break.
Forest now look stronger at the City Ground than was the case a few weeks ago. And for the second home league game in succession, they came from behind to claim a result - having previously drawn 2-2 with Manchester United. That says much about their mentality.
“I think everyone needs it,” Dyche said of the win “I need it as much as everyone else does - I’m the manager.
“It’s a shift. But it’s not just winning we have got to try to sort out, there’s a lot of things. I’ve said that all along.”
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