Leeds United marked their return to the Premier League after two years away with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Everton at Elland Road.
The hosts came into the match having won just one of their last six meetings with Everton, that victory coming back in November 2020. This time, however, they made their dominance count, edging out David Moyes’ side thanks to a late Lukas Nmecha penalty.
Leeds United and Everton Starting XIs
Daniel Farke handed out three debuts in his Leeds line-up. Goalkeeper Lucas Perri, full-back Gabriel Gudmundsson and midfielder Anton Stach all started, while Ethan Ampadu provided stability in midfield. Dan James, Wilfried Gnonto, Ao Tanaka and Joel Piroe carried the attacking threat.
For Everton, new signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made his debut in midfield. Jordan Pickford started in goal behind a defence of Jake O’Brien, Michael Keane and James Tarkowski. Tim Iroegbunam, Idrissa Gueye and James Garner were also named in midfield, with Carlos Alcaraz, Iliman Ndiaye and striker Beto forming the attack.
First half
Leeds began brightly and almost took the lead inside five minutes, when Piroe forced Pickford into a good save from the left side of the box. From the resulting corner, Ampadu flicked the ball dangerously across goal, but nobody could apply the finishing touch.
The hosts continued to dominate, with Gudmundsson striking from distance after 15 minutes. His shot deflected kindly into the path of Tanaka, who was unable to convert from close range. Leeds had five corners inside the opening quarter of an hour as they pinned Everton back.
Everton offered little going forward until the 29th minute, when Alcaraz broke into the box only for his heavy touch to gift possession to Perri. Leeds remained on top, with James and Gnonto both trying efforts from distance before half-time.
Half time: Leeds United 0-0 Everton
Second half
Gnonto again found himself in space early after the restart but shot weakly at Pickford. Everton responded with more possession and Gueye registered their first shot on 54 minutes, though it sailed well wide.
Leeds kept probing, with James producing a fine run down the flank before squaring for Gnonto, who turned sharply but fired into the side-netting. Everton improved as the half wore on, with James Garner’s free kick forcing a corner, before Moyes introduced new signing Jack Grealish for his debut on 71 minutes.
The visitors created their best chances when Alcaraz tested Perri with a driven strike, and O’Brien headed over from the resulting corner. At the other end, Tanaka spurned Leeds’ biggest chance of the half, blasting over from the edge of the area.
Nmecha makes the difference
The decisive moment came in the 82nd minute. Stach’s effort from outside the box struck Tarkowski, and after a VAR check to confirm, the referee awarded a penalty. Substitute Lukas Nmecha, making his debut, stepped up confidently and buried it into the bottom right corner to give Leeds the lead.
Everton nearly equalised late on, with Tarkowski heading over after a flick from Beto. In added time, Stach twice went close to doubling the lead, but Pickford denied him, and a second chance was fired over the bar.
Leeds held firm to take all three points, giving Farke the perfect start to life back in the Premier League.
