DOMINIC CALVERT-LEWIN HITS 10 GOALS AS LEEDS HAMMER NOTTINGHAM FOREST 3-1
Leeds United secured a vital 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest as Dominic Calvert-Lewin reached 10 goals to ease relegation fears.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin grabbed his 10th Premier League goal of the season as Leeds rolled past Nottingham Forest 3-1 and put some real distance between themselves and the drop zone—nine points, to be exact.
Calvert-Lewin, a summer pickup from Everton, almost scored with a bullet header in the first half that rattled the crossbar. He didn’t have to wait long, though. Just after halftime, he chested in Leeds’ third goal, capping off a quick surge after Jayden Bogle and Noah Okafor had already put Leeds in control by the break.
Forest did get a late goal—Lorenzo Lucca, coming off the bench for his club debut, nodded one in—but it only softened the scoreline as they slumped to their 13th league loss.
Leeds are still sitting 16th in the table, level on points with Crystal Palace and Tottenham, but more importantly, they’ve got a nine-point cushion over third-bottom West Ham, who still have to play struggling Burnley on Saturday.
Forest stay 17th, six points clear of West Ham. They’d won their last two away games and looked lively early, creating a few good chances.
But once Leeds went up in the 26th minute, the momentum never really shifted. The home fans pushed them on to a fifth win under the Elland Road lights and their sixth at home this season.
From the opening whistle, Leeds went straight at Forest. Zach Abbott, making his first Premier League start, almost sliced Gabriel Gudmundsson’s cross into his own net.
Forest looked dangerous on the break, though. After Leeds keeper Karl Darlow easily gathered a low shot from Callum Hudson-Odoi, he had to stretch to keep out a sharp effort from Nicolas Dominguez.
Igor Jesus headed wide as Forest started to find their feet, but then Calvert-Lewin’s header smashed off the bar.
Leeds took over with two goals in four minutes before the half-hour. First, Bogle timed his run perfectly to collect Ilia Gruev’s lofted pass and coolly slid the ball under Forest’s debut keeper, Stefan Ortega. Moments later, Ortega stopped a shot from James Justin, but Leeds kept the pressure on. The ball fell to Okafor, who tucked away his third goal of the campaign.
Forest nearly pulled one back before halftime when Darlow denied Morgan Gibbs-White with a strong save.
Leeds didn’t slow down after the break. In the 49th minute, Gruev had all the time he wanted on the right and whipped in a cross that Calvert-Lewin guided in with his chest—double digits for him this season.
Daniel James even got back on the pitch for Leeds, making his first appearance since November after a hamstring injury.
Forest kept fighting. Morato’s header went just wide, then Lucca finally broke through, heading in Omari Hutchinson’s cross in the 86th minute.
Darlow capped the night with one more save, tipping Ibrahim Sangare’s shot over the bar. By then, though, Forest were out of time.
SUNDERLAND BOSS REGIS LE BRIS LABELS ARSENAL "BEST IN EUROPE" FOLLOWING 3-0 EMIRATES DEFEAT
Sunderland’s Regis Le Bris labelled Arsenal the "best team in Europe" after a 3-0 defeat left the Gunners nine points clear.
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris didn’t hold back after his team’s 3-0 loss at Arsenal on Saturday. He called Arsenal “the best team in Europe” and sounded honestly impressed by what he’d just seen at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta’s squad keeps stretching their lead at the top of the Premier League—now nine points clear. Martin Zubimendi opened the scoring, and then Viktor Gyokeres came off the bench in the second half to add two more. Arsenal’s grip on the game was obvious. Sunderland barely managed three shots on target all day.
After the match, Le Bris admitted Arsenal looked “really impressive” and said Arteta’s got the depth he needs to lift the Premier League trophy. “We’re still a newly promoted side, facing probably the best team in Europe right now,” he said. “They’ve built this group over years. We’re not at that level yet, but we have to learn from games like this. You need strong foundations and attention to detail if you want to grow.”
He couldn’t stop talking about Arsenal’s squad: “They’re so organised, so tough to break down, and even their bench is packed with threats. That kind of depth matters, especially when you’ve got wingers and creative players who can change a game late on. When everyone’s tired, those guys really make the difference. Arsenal showed that today—they were just outstanding.”
When someone asked if Arsenal has what it takes to win the league, Le Bris didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I think so,” he said.
He also pointed out how much trouble Arsenal’s pressing game gave Sunderland. “The score says it all. They didn’t let up. We handed them a few chances with turnovers, and their pressing punished us every time,” Le Bris said.
“They’re top of the league, top of the Champions League group—they’ve got quality everywhere. You feel their experience, their class. Still, at the end of the day, the score’s the score, and we have to learn from it.”
He repeated that Arsenal’s experience really shows. “They’ve spent years building this. Every part of their game looks well-rounded. We knew coming here that it would come down to the little things, and today, those key moments went their way.”
Le Bris sounded a bit frustrated, too. “We knew their pressing would be fierce. We lost five or six balls—that’s just too many against a team like this. The first two goals came straight from those mistakes.”
And trying to break down Arsenal’s defence? He just shook his head. “In the final third, they’re organised, the defenders are solid. Breaking them down is really tough.”
DAVID MOYES HAILS "TERRIFIC" DEWSBURY-HALL AFTER VITAL CRAVEN COTTAGE VICTORY
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall redeemed his Brighton miss with a vital goal in Everton's 2-1 win at Fulham, keeping his promise to Moyes.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made good on a promise he’d given David Moyes during the week, and his goal helped Everton pull off a comeback win at Fulham.
Last weekend at Brighton, Dewsbury-Hall blew a golden chance—he shot straight at Bart Verbruggen after Thierno Barry set him up perfectly. He told Moyes afterwards that he wouldn’t let it happen again.
At Craven Cottage, he kept his word. This time, when the ball fell to him in the box, he buried it and gave Everton the spark they needed for another solid win on the road.
Everton actually fell behind early. Vitalii Mykolenko’s own goal put Fulham up after Jordan Pickford managed to stop Raul Jimenez’s shot, only for the rebound to bounce off Mykolenko and in. That opened the door for a barrage from Fulham—Pickford had to make a couple of big saves, and both Emile Smith Rowe and Samuel Chukwueze clipped the woodwork. But Everton weathered it. Dewsbury-Hall led the charge, and his corner forced Bernd Leno into a mistake that ended up as Everton’s match-winner. They left with a 2-1 victory.
Dewsbury-Hall’s performance stood out—he’d looked sharp before hurting his hamstring at Chelsea back in December, and he’s only just getting back to his best. Moyes praised him after the game: “He’s brought something different to us. He’s been terrific. He’s nearly back to full fitness. He got about 90 minutes today, and he’s still working his way back from that hamstring injury at Stamford Bridge. He missed that big chance at Brighton, and today’s goal was almost a carbon copy. He told me this week, ‘If I get another one like that, I won’t miss it.’ And he didn’t.”
Because of a touchline ban from last week’s yellow card at Brighton, Moyes had to watch from the stands. Afterwards, he admitted Fulham edged the first half but didn’t think the gap was huge.
“I didn’t think we played well, but I don’t think we were terrible either,” he said. “We kept the ball alright for the first ten minutes, then made a couple of mistakes. The goal was just unlucky. Pickford made a great save; it bounces off Myko, what can you do?
“Fulham probably shaded the first half, but it wasn’t by much. We did well to keep it 1-0 at the break. Second half, I thought we were much better.”