On an afternoon when few players shone for Leeds United in their defeat against Nottingham Forest, centre forward Lukas Nmecha was one of the bright sparks.
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin relegated to the bench through injury, summer signing Lukas Nmecha was handed an opportunity to start at the City Ground.
He wasted no time in vindicating Daniel Farke, as he produced a neat finish to put Leeds 1-0 up with just 11 minutes on the clock, scoring his second goal of the Premier League season.
Sadly, that was as good as things got for both Leeds and Nmecha, as the Whites succumbed to a demoralising 3-1 defeat.
However, Nmecha gave his manager plenty of food for thought for the international break, as he joined an exclusive Leeds club with his goal against Nottingham Forest.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin in action for Leeds United during a Premier League clash against Newcastle
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
How did Lukas Nmecha’s display for Leeds United compare to Dominic Calvert-Lewin?
Nmecha has neatly book-ended Leeds’ opening 11 games of the season, scoring their first goal of the year against Everton before scoring their most recent in the loss against Forest.
The former Wolfsburg forward had a lively afternoon, playing 74 minutes before being replaced as Leeds chased the game, and having picked up a knock.
Nmecha had two shots, scoring one, producing a total expected goals of 0.32. He made four successful passes from five attempts and took 20 touches in total, with two in the opposition box. He also won his only aerial duel of the afternoon, but won just one ground duel from five attempts, according to FotMob.
Metric Lukas Nmecha vs Forest Dominic Calvert-Lewin average per 90 mins
Goals 1 0.15
Expected Goals 0.32 0.3
Successful Passes 4 10.39
Chances Created 0 1.17
Touches 20 29.85
Aerial Duels won 1 4.15
Ground Duels won 1 2.05
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By contrast, Calvert-Lewin has managed just one goal so far this season, with an average xG of 0.3 per game. However, Calvert-Lewin’s all-round contribution shows his value to Farke’s side.
Calvert-Lewin averages 29.85 touches per game, with 4.24 touches in the opposition box. He also wins four aerial duels on average per game and 6.15 duels overall.
Where Calvert-Lewin can learn from Nmecha is his efficiency in front of goal. As things stand, Nmecha averages 0.66 goals per 90 minutes, to Calvert-Lewin’s 0.15. Based on his display against Forest, Farke may be tempted to experiment with playing the pair together to get the best of both worlds.
Lukas Nmecha of Leeds United
Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Lukas Nmecha joins exclusive Leeds United club at the City Ground
By slipping to a defeat against Forest, Leeds continued their winless run in the top flight, which extends back to the Don Revie era.
During that time, Leeds have scored remarkably few goals in away games against Nottingham Forest, particularly in the Premier League era.
Nmecha became only the fifth Leeds United player to score at the ground in the Premier League era, following in the footsteps of Rod Wallace, Carlton Palmer and Brian Deane.
Leeds’ Premier League goalscorers at the City Ground:
Rod Wallace – Nottingham Forest 1-1 Leeds, March 1993
Carlton Palmer – Nottingham Forest 2-1 Leeds, January 1996
Brian Deane – Nottingham Forest 1-1 Leeds, April 1997
Gunnar Halle – Nottingham Forest 1-1 Leeds, October 1998
Lukas Nmecha – Nottingham Forest 3-1 Leeds, November 2025
Gunnar Halle was the last Leeds player to score at the City Ground in the Premier League, when he found the net in a 1-1 draw in 1998.