Leeds boss Daniel Farke praised a “massive win” for his side after they beat Premier League relegation rivals Nottingham Forest 3-1 at Elland Road to climb nine points clear of the bottom three.
Two goals in four first-half minutes from Jayden Bogle – his first in the top flight for Leeds – and Noah Okafor put Leeds in control before Dominic Calvert-Lewin notched his 10th league goal of the season soon after the interval.
Forest’s new signing from Napoli, Lorenzo Lucca, headed a late consolation for the visitors, who stayed one place and six points above the drop zone.
Farke said: “I’m very proud because this was complicated game for us. First and foremost, because we had lost the last game (4-0 at home against Arsenal).
“I know it was Arsenal, but a loss always does something with the confidence and belief. It’s always difficult to respond after a loss, and this made it a difficult game.
“Second, it was, of course, a game where there was a bit more on the line, not just the three points. Sometimes during the season there’s a game that feels just a bit more important than other games.
“And then to deliver in this way, with such a spirited performance, with our intensity to be so dominant and to play such a good football game.
“I think it will do a lot with our confidence, our belief, our spirit within the group. This was second to none today, and for that, it’s a massive performance and a massive win.”
Farke singled out Bulgaria midfielder Ilia Gruev and Switzerland winger Okafor for special praise.
“Ilia looked unbelievably sharp in training this week,” the German boss added. “He’s so reliable.
“With him, you always get a six or seven out of 10. Today, it was pretty close to a 10 out of 10. Two assists, many key passes. I thought he was outstanding.
“Noah gave one of his best performances in a Leeds shirt. He can take on players, score goals and deliver assists. We know this, but also today, his work was great against the ball to win it back.”
Forest boss Sean Dyche felt his side were just beginning to ask questions of Leeds before conceding quickfire first-half goals, but admitted the home side deserved their win.
“We knew they’d start fast and I thought we weathered that OK actually,” Dyche said.
“We were having our best spell and the frustration for me is their first goal was such a poor goal to concede when we were now asking questions of them.
“And the third is the one that really kills you, because by then you’re looking at it thinking ‘OK, we can nick the next goal and if you get that it’s 2-1 and all of a sudden everything changes’.
“But we gave away another really poor goal defensively, but the pleasing thing, if there is such a thing from today, is we kept on going and kept on going.”
