Nottingham Forest fell 0-2 to Leeds in the EFL Cup after the visitors scored twice following a blank first half. Forest never found a way back once the game opened up after the restart.

Match Summary

The opening 45 minutes at the City Ground produced no goals. Leeds collected the only caution of the half when A. Tanaka was booked, and the sides went in level.

Forest were shown a yellow of their own as soon as the second half began, X. Schlager the player cautioned, still with nothing on the scoreboard. D. James then had Leeds in front five minutes after the restart. S. Longstaff provided the assist, and the visitors finally had a lead to protect.

Forest could not respond. S. Longstaff was booked in the 67th minute, and J. Justin scored in the 75th minute to put the contest out of reach. The closing stretch was about discipline more than a comeback. Cunha, Murillo and N. Dominguez were all cautioned for Forest, and E. Ampadu picked up a late yellow for Leeds, but the official score stayed 0-2.

Key Moments

The first real swing was the interval itself. Forty-five minutes without a goal left the tie open, so the next accurate attack was always going to change the night. Leeds got that attack first, and Forest spent the rest of the evening chasing rather than dictating.

Time then became the problem. The second Leeds goal arrived with a quarter of an hour remaining, which left Forest needing two scores in a hurry. A cluster of bookings after that point spoke to a fraying contest that never produced a Forest reply or a sending-off.

Match Statistics

Possession finished dead level at 50 percent apiece, so this was not a story of one team hogging the ball. Leeds were more productive in front of goal, taking 13 shots and putting five on target to Forest's nine and three. Corners were limited, three for the hosts and two for the visitors. Forest collected four yellow cards and Leeds three. There were no red cards.

See also

• Nottingham Forest vs Leeds live score
• AltBets live scores
• AltBets tips
• Match recaps