Daniel Farke responds to Leeds United anger after Nottingham Forest defeat and ref's 'big mistake' — YEP 9/11/25

By Graham Smyth

Leeds United's 3-1 loss at Nottingham Forest left them just one point above the Premier League relegation zone.

Daniel Farke insists Leeds United are staying calm in the face of an angry response to back-to-back defeats as what he called 'small details' cost them at Nottingham Forest.

Goals from Ibrahim Sangaré, Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson gave the Reds a 3-1 win over a Leeds side who struggled to create chances and yet again made defensive errors. Goalkeeper Lucas Perri parried the ball directly into Sangaré's path for the first, Jaka Bijol let Gibbs-White ghost in unmarked to head home the second and Jack Harrison gave away a penalty that Anderson dispatched late on.

Leeds had taken the lead through Lukas Nmecha's clinical finish but found themselves pegged back within two minutes and rarely looked capable of scoring a second. The response from the away end was decidedly mixed, with some applause and plenty of angry gestures towards Farke and his players. There is a section of the fanbase calling for Farke's head.

When asked what he could say to fans after struggling to create - their Expected Goals at Forest was just 0.69 compared to the hosts' 2.47 - and yet again committing defensive mistakes, Farke responded: "It's quite normal you're disappointed and angry after a loss, as we all are overall. Small details are always decisive for the outcome of the game. There were a few details where we were not good enough. After a really good start - we had addressed this, we wanted to start better and we went in the lead - we should do more than to give this away so cheaply, we should have been more on it, more pressure on the ball, in the duel, gave it too cheap away. The second decisive moment of the game was the 2-1. Big mistake of the referee, the only one in the stadium who saw the foul on Stach was a foul against him. They put the ball long, score a goal out of this. I would have preferred to play out of the rules. But self critical, second ball when the ball comes in, we should have marked the striker better."

Farke was disappointed that having focused on tracking runners in their preparations, Gibbs-White was allowed a free header in the area.

"We addressed it all week, they play with many long balls and crosses, we were not spot on in this moment," he said. "You take more risks, bring offensive players in and we were a bit clumsy to give the penalty away. The first key moment was that we gave the lead too cheaply and early away and not to work a bit more with it. The second key moment was the wrong decision and we could have defended better."

The references to officiating will likely curry no favour for Farke with fans. That free-kick, while undoubtedly incorrectly awarded to the home side, was in the Forest half of the pitch. They still had a long way to go and a lot to do to score a goal. But score they did, before adding a third. Leeds becoming so porous at the back is of extreme concern for a side whose ability to create has been under such scrutiny. Where Farke can find more common ground with supporters is in the offensive options he has been given to work with and his brief mention of the transfer window was a nod in that direction. But however fans feel about the threat of relegation or even the manager's position, Farke insists the club are staying calm.

"It's quite normal that the fanbase of Leeds United is emotional," he said. "Everyone was doubting after each loss last season and we finished with 100 points. Everyone has the right to be a bit critical, we've conceded three goals in the last two away games. We could have made our life more easy with some points, that's for sure. We have to return back to our best behaviour in terms of defending like the start of the season when we were really good. I didn't expect before the season started and with how the transfer window turned out that it would be an easy smooth ride this season, never in danger. We have 11 games, 11 points, the points average we need to stay in this league, we've never been in the relegation zone. Could have been better but if I'm honest, in my dream version we cruise easily and right now it's all a bit tighter but it's nothing making us panic. The outside world, we can't influence it much. We're quite calm. We had a difficult run of games with three away games in the last four games. We know we're a bit more likely to win our home games. We want to win points in away games and have to return back to more defensive stability, more than we've shown in the last two games."