Leeds United's Ambitious Start to Premier League Season

Anton Stach tore away towards the away end, arms wide, as if he could hug every Leeds United supporter packed into that corner of the City Ground. His free-kick, whipped and vicious late on, didn’t just win a game. It flipped the entire mood around this club’s Premier League return.

A year ago, this place had felt like a warning.

From bruising defeat to statement win

Last November, Lukas Nmecha had struck early here to give Leeds a brief sense of control. Forest responded with three of their own, Sean Dyche celebrated his first win as Forest manager, and Leeds trudged away with relegation fears gnawing at them.

That afternoon was supposed to be the start of Forest’s resurgence. Instead, nine months on, it is Leeds who look like a team accelerating.

Daniel Farke’s side have taken 17 points from their past eight league matches. Only Arsenal, with 18, have done better since the start of April. The numbers back up what the eye test at the City Ground screamed: this is no longer a team simply trying to cling on.

"I expected a difficult game away at Forest," Farke told BBC Match of the Day after the win. "I'm very happy to come away with a cleansheet and compliments to the players."

The contrast with last season’s anxiety could not be sharper.

From slow start to clear identity

Leeds finished 14th last season, eight points clear of danger. Respectable in the final table, but that hardly tells the story of how rocky the return to the top flight looked in the early months.

They opened the campaign with just three wins from 13, losing eight. Pressure built on Farke, on the dressing room, on the club’s entire Premier League plan.

The turning point came in defeat. Away at Manchester City on 29 November, Farke ripped up his 4-3-3 and went with a 3-5-2. Leeds lost 3-2 at the Etihad but found something far more valuable: a structure that suited them. From that point, they were beaten only five more times all season.

Ethan Ampadu, now firmly the voice of the dressing room, knows what changed.

"There were times in the first half of last year where we allowed teams to run over us a bit," the Leeds captain told BBC Final Score. "We wanted to get a bit more solid and put our stamp on the game. We want the ball, we want to be attacking and creative."

That intent was written all over their performance at Forest, especially given how badly they struggled away from home last term. Just two league wins on the road in the entire 2025-26 campaign made this opening-day victory feel like more than three points.

"Away games in Premier League are always difficult," Farke said. "Sometimes the second year is more difficult. Last season, we picked up many points with draws. On the road, we want to be competitive and be more effective."

At the City Ground, they were.

Ambition backed with cash

Farke did not hide his frustration at the end of last season. After steering Leeds to safety, he openly questioned whether he was "the right choice" to stay if the club failed to match his ambition in the transfer window.

The board heard him. And paid up.

Around £80m has gone into new signings. Three of them walked straight into the starting XI on opening day and immediately justified the faith.

James Trafford, signed from Manchester City for £45m – a record fee for a British goalkeeper – looked every inch the long-term No. 1. His handling was clean, his decision-making sharp, his saves decisive. On a tight afternoon, he kept Leeds in control.

In front of him, Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic offered more than just solidity. He attacked set-pieces with intent, forcing Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels into action with a towering header that underlined the threat he brings in both boxes.

Harry Wilson, a free transfer after hitting 10 goals and seven assists for Fulham last season, thought he had marked his debut with a goal, only to be denied by the offside flag. The finish, though, and the positions he took up, hinted at what he can add to Farke’s attack.

"From the very first minute they walked into the building, they have shown their quality," Ampadu said. "They have shown why they have been brought in to try and help us get to the next level. They've shown that hunger and drive to take Leeds to a better place so that has been very good."

Farke agreed.

"I am very happy because they have big boots to fill," he said. "Trafford is a good player but he hasn't played that many Premier League games, Tarik too. So they both shined and showed why we agreed to sign them, but the whole group was excellent today.

"Wilson too was excellent. The vibe and mood is good around the place."

That mood matters. Farke is now the third-longest-serving manager in the division, behind only Mikel Arteta at Arsenal and Unai Emery at Aston Villa. In a league that chews through coaches, that kind of continuity is rare – and powerful.

Thriving, not surviving

Leeds’ target is no secret inside the camp.

"We know our targets and goals," Ampadu said. "We want to be a Premier League club next season. We want to achieve that target and then get to a better place. Once that can be achieved, we think of everything else."

This is not a group content with another 14th-place finish. The tactical stability, the late-season surge, the money spent, the manager’s status – it all points in one direction.

With new arrivals already shaping games and familiar figures like Stach still producing decisive moments, Leeds walk away from the City Ground with more than just an opening-day win.

They leave with the sense that, under Farke, this might be the season they stop looking over their shoulders and start seeing how high they can climb.