Lukas Nmecha enjoyed a dream Leeds United debut as his late penalty handed them a 1-0 victory over Everton in their first game of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
Nmecha, who joined Daniel Farke's side on a free transfer in June after leaving Bundesliga club Wolfsburg, came off the bench to slot home from the spot in the 84th minute.
Having won the Championship title with 100 points last season, Leeds played with a swagger at a buoyant Elland Road, but it looked like they would have to settle for a point as a stubborn Everton defence dug in.
However, the decisive moment came when James Tarkowski was penalised for handball from Anton Stach's deflected drive, and Nmecha held his nerve to beat Jordan Pickford.
While Leeds are up and running, Everton will approach their first Premier League game at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday without a point to their name.
How the match unfolded
Roared on by a boisterous crowd, Leeds penned Everton back in the early stages and saw Pickford deny Joel Piroe a fifth-minute opener at his near post.
With Everton struggling to get out, Pascal Struijk completely missed his header after Pickford failed to get near a corner, while Daniel James saw a deflected volley spiral over the crossbar.
Gnonto sent a long-range drive over the top shortly before half-time, which arrived without Everton attempting a single shot.
Gnonto then rippled the side netting early in the second half, though Everton eventually improved as Lucas Perri denied Charly Alcaraz before Jake O'Brien nodded over, while Manchester City loanee Jack Grealish came off the bench for his Toffees debut.
However, it was Leeds that finished strongly, with Ao Tanaka volleying over before Stach's hopeful effort bounced up onto the left arm of Tarkowski.
Referee Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot, and after a brief VAR review confirmed the decision, Nmecha found the bottom-right corner, with Leeds holding firm through seven minutes of stoppage time.
#LEEEVE – 82’
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) August 18, 2025
The referee’s call of penalty for handball by Tarkowski was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that he leaned into the ball with his arm.
Leeds grind out statement win
The last time Leeds were promoted to the Premier League, under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020, they announced their ultra-attacking intentions on the opening matchday, losing 4-3 to Liverpool in an Anfield thriller.
This time around, it looked as though a lack of cutting edge may hold them back, as a dominant first-half performance went unrewarded.
Of the eight players signed by Leeds in the transfer window thus far, seven are at least 6ft, and a flurry of early corners saw them lay siege to Pickford's penalty area. However, the towering duo of Tarkowski and Michael Keane were on hand to repel that pressure.
Farke may have been wishing former Everton forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin – who arrived to Leeds on a free transfer on Friday but was not deemed ready for any involvement – was available as the game threatened to peter out into a goalless draw.
However, another new striker proved to be the match-winner, with Nmecha staying calm to beat Pickford's dive and hand Leeds their first Premier League victory since April 2023.
Tougher challenges will await Leeds, starting with Saturday's trip to title hopefuls Arsenal, but Farke will be delighted with the way his team battled to a deserved three points.
Uneventful Everton display punished
With a shiny new home in the form of Hill Dickinson Stadium and marquee loan signing of England international Grealish, there were plenty of reasons for positivity at Everton ahead of the campaign.
But David Moyes has demanded more urgency in the transfer market, and in the first 45 minutes of their season, it was attack versus defence with Everton camped inside their own half.
Despite Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitalii Mykolenko missing out due to injury, Everton were set up to withstand Leeds' physicality and defend their own area, with O'Brien and James Garner slotting into the full-back positions.
However, Everton lacked an attacking outlet, even after gaining a foothold in the second half. Grealish came on for a cameo appearance in the 71st minute but was barely involved as a scrappy affair was decided by Tarkowski's handball and Nmecha's spot-kick.
Moyes may have felt there was little Tarkowski could do as Stach's shot deflected onto his upper arm, but Everton could have few complaints about the result after registering just one shot on target.
Far more will be expected of the Toffees when Brighton & Hove Albion visit Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.
Club reports
What the managers said
David Moyes: "Leeds were better than us on the night but in the second half we might've had a chance."
On potential signings in the rest of the transfer window: "I'm confident we will get something."
Daniel Farke: "The first two or three touches of Lukas were not spot on. I was a bit worried.
"I was thinking about saying, 'today, perhaps is not the day to take'. He [Nmecha] was ice-cold and calm. He is a top guy and a really good finisher."
Next fixtures
Key facts
For just a third time in Premier League history, as many as two newly promoted sides (Leeds and Sunderland in 2025/26) have won on Matchweek 1, also happening in 1997/98 (Bolton & Crystal Palace) and in 2021/22 (Brentford & Watford).
Before today, none of the previous 17 Championship champions had won on Matchweek 1 in the Premier League the following season (five draws, 12 losses), with Leeds becoming the first side to achieve this feat since Sunderland beat Spurs (1-0) on the opening matchday in 2007/08.
Nmecha became the first Leeds substitute to score on his Premier League debut since Alan Smith in November 1998, while he’s the first player to score a penalty on his debut for the club in the competition.
Debutant Stach became the first Leeds player to have as many as four or more shots and create four or more chances in a Premier League match since Raphinha (four shots, six chances) against Wolves in February 2021.