For Anton Stach, another sweet direct free-kick to add to the back catalogue, this one souring Oliver Glasner’s first match in charge of Nottingham Forest. Only Dominik Szoboszlai eclipsed Stach’s record of three direct free-kick goals in the Premier League last season, one of those coming against Glasner’s Crystal Palace.
Stach’s latest right-foot strike earned Leeds, fresh from a near-flawless pre-season and an expensive and exciting summer in the market, a divine opening-day victory with a couple of minutes of normal time remaining.
It has been a busy few weeks for the Germany midfielder. “He even released a burger a few days ago and I never expected him to do this,” said the Leeds manager, Daniel Farke, alluding to Stach launching a burger at a city-centre eatery to raise money for charity. “He’s a bit of a weird and crazy guy.
“I expected when he was over the free-kick that he could do something special. He has done it time and time again. He surprised me [with his free-kicks] last season [but now] I trust him with everything. Last season, I would have never thought about it.”
For Forest, a few minutes before kick-off, the curtain going up on another season, a new protagonist emerged from the tunnel. Glasner, Forest’s fifth head coach in less than 12 months, surveyed the scene from his technical area. But the start of this new dawn did not go to plan, an underwhelming performance culminating with Stach sneaking in his whipped free-kick at Matz Sels’s near post. At least Forest can put things right quickly, Leeds visiting in a Carabao Cup rematch on Tuesday.
Leeds were imposing and always looked more threatening, rationing Forest to moments. In the first half, Harry Wilson had a debut goal disallowed when the assistant referee raised his flag for offside after the Welshman, whose arrival is evidence of Leeds’ ambition, latched on to Jayden Bogle’s pushed pass. In the second, Sels’ strong left hand prevented a header by the £34m signing Tarik Muharemovic, another debutant, flying into the top corner.
Glasner, who left marquee signing Ousmane Diomande on the bench and introduced Xaver Schlager late on, puffed his cheeks as every outfield Leeds player joined the celebrations. The away end, bathed in the evening sun, was jubilant. The Forest areas began to empty.
“It was pretty clear that I can’t come with my staff, lay our hands on the shoulders [of the players], and all of a sudden we play like Real Madrid in the 70s or whatever,” Glasner said. “It was an OK performance from both teams – a typical first Premier League game after a long break and this is also now not the time to bury our heads into the sand.”
These remain early days – Nuno Espírito Santo was in charge when Forest beat Brentford in their opening game last season – but they did little to enthuse the locals. Chris Wood arrived from the bench and sent a bobbling ball wide with a first-time shot from Morgan Gibbs-White’s deflected pass. Schlager replaced James McAtee for his debut, but Leeds were buoyant at the final whistle.
Only Arsenal and Manchester United scored more set-piece goals than Leeds last season, but Farke dismissed the suggestion they are more important than previously. “There is not one team who won the World Cup without a set-piece goal,” said the German, stating ability from dead balls was a factor in their summer recruitment, Wilson a case in point.
“I remember Germany 12 years ago, a crap [quarter-final] game against France: Mats Hummels header, boom, goal,” he said. “I remember magic free-kick takers: Juninho, who got this crazy curve on the ball. It is always a major part of the game, not just nowadays. Anton is perhaps not as beautiful on the eye like Juninho’s free-kicks, but bloody effective, and I quite like it.”
