Leeds United booked their place in the third round of the Carabao Cup by defeating Nottingham Forest at The City Ground by two goals to nil.

This comes just days after Daniel Farke’s men also beat Forest by a goal to nil in the Premier League. Most expect Forest to be one of the teams in and around us this season. So to beat them twice in a matter of days away from home is a major statement.

As expected, Farke used the cup tie to rotate his side. The likes of Ao Tanaka, Sean Longstaff, Lukas Nmecha, Noah Okafor and Nico Elvedi all got valuable minutes under their belt.

However, there was another player who was handed a rare start who was exceptional. His performance reminded Farke exactly what he is capable of.

Dan James shines against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup

Before James Justin scored what is likely to be one of the ugliest and scrappiest goals we will see all season, Dan James opened the scoring with an exceptional finish.

The 28-year-old was played in behind superbly by Longstaff. James then did not make any mistakes as he whipped the ball into the far corner.

The goal was his first for Leeds since April 2025 after injuries limited his involvement during last season.

In possession, he acted like a right winger in a 4-3-3. Without the ball, James dropped in as a wing-back as part of a back five.

The Welshman managed this hybrid role perfectly, reminding Farke of the quality he does have. Perhaps this is something we may experiment with when we are chasing the game in certain Premier League fixtures.

I’m not going to act like last night’s performance from James is enough to magically get him back into the starting XI consistently, but in what could potentially be a rare chance to impress, James, who was signed for £25million back in 2021, reminded Farke that he certainly could have a role to play for us this season.

Data supports the fact that Dan James was impressive against Nottingham Forest

With James, there is always the discussion surrounding him of whether he can do it in the Premier League.

Last night, James looked like the winger who tore up the Championship for us in our promotion-winning campaign. But crucially, he was doing it against Premier League opposition. Albeit Forest did make some changes to their starting XI as well.

In the 71 minutes he was on the pitch, James was incredibly unfortunate to be involved in just the one goal, and the data supports this fact.

  • As well as opening the scoring, James registered three key passes against Forest
  • He also created two big chances
  • James was also incredibly direct, attempting six crosses during the game (Sofascore)

No matter how highly you rate him as a player, I think it’s fair to say that we all love James. So after such a tough season last year, it was pleasing to see him earn a well-deserved Man of the Match award.

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