Leeds United secured their place in the third round of the EFL Cup with a comfortable 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Second-half goals from Dan James and James Justin were enough to send Daniel Farke’s side through to the next round of the competition.
It is the second time Leeds have beaten Forest in the space of three days. The Whites came away with a 1-0 victory in Saturday’s Premier League opener before completing another win over the Midlands side in the cup.
However, Forest pundits have once again found plenty to complain about, with the referee coming under scrutiny following another defeat for the hosts.
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James Justin effectively put the game beyond Forest with Leeds’ second goal in the 75th minute. However, it was far from a clean finish, coming after a scramble inside the box and right near the goal line.
Robert Earnshaw claimed that Justin’s effort struck Lukas Nmecha on its way towards goal, with the former striker pointing out that Nmecha appeared to be in an offside position.
He also pointed out that Neco Williams initially managed to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line. However, he failed to mention that the defender appeared to handle the ball inside the penalty area.
Earnshaw said on ITV: “That is absolutely offside. You see here as Justin hits it, it hits Nmecha, and he is offside.
“Nmecha is in front of the goalkeeper and the defender on the floor, and it definitely hits him on the way in.
“Absolutely no doubt that would have been disallowed with VAR because Williams stops it going in first time, then it goes in after that.”
Leeds will not care
The Whites had their fair share of refereeing errors that cost them points last season, and they would not mind the rub of the green going their way.
How VAR would have interpreted the penalty box scrap that led to Justin’s goal is up for debate, and there is no doubt Leeds deserve to win tonight.
Daniel Farke will now prepare his side to host Brentford at Elland Road in the Premier League on Sunday, when VAR will be operational.
For now, Forest would have to accept Leeds were the better team tonight and probably on Saturday as well.
