Leeds 3-1 Nottingham Forest: What the result means for the relegation battle

Meanwhile, Forest have won just two of their past nine Premier League matches.

More importantly, one of those victories was a 2-1 win over West Ham last month, which prevented the Hammers from moving within a point.

Even when Nuno Espirito Santo’s side beat Sunderland two weeks ago, Forest responded with an impressive 2-0 win over Brentford 24 hours later.

However, these results were achieved through the first defense – and the absence of Matz Sels due to a thigh injury was a big loss as well.

It was a gamble to replace last season’s Gold Glove Award winner with John Victor in December, and it paid off in the end, as Victor himself was also sidelined for the rest of the season.

That prompted Forest to bring in Stefan Ortega from Manchester City during the transfer window – but his debut against Leeds means a defense that was so consistent last season has only changed further.

Zak Abbott was another new signing at Elland Road, with the 19-year-old making his Premier League debut in the absence of injured defender Murillo.

Abbott was targeted in the first half as Leeds took advantage of his inexperience – although Leeds’ goals were ultimately a collective failure.