By Amitai Winehouse For The Daily Mail
Published: 16:58 GMT, 1 January 2019 | Updated: 17:10 GMT, 1 January 2019
View
comments
They sang his name from the first minute and it was instantly greeted with applause. By the end, they had good reason.
Whatever those behind the scenes think, the Nottingham Forest fans want Aitor Karanka to stay.
Under pressure before this gripping win against Leeds, Karanka was said to have lost the dressing room. Not on the basis of the second-half, where his men fought and overcame a blistering comeback by the visitors to win a first game in six.
Nottingham Forest blew league leaders Leeds away in a six-goal thriller at the City ground
Jack Colback was the star for Forest as he netted a brace to condemn the visitors to defeat
A straight red for Leeds' Kalvin Phillips turned the game on its head to leave Leeds in trouble
There are caveats. Leeds played 45 minutes with just 10 men and had already gifted Forest an opener when Kalvin Phillips was dismissed.
But Marcelo Bielsa’s side are a tough nut to crack in any situation and Karanka will, presumably, earn credit for this result.
It came on the back of a mad 10 minutes as Forest overturned Leeds’ lead through Jack Colback, Daryl Murphy and Ben Osborn.
The new year got off to a perfect start on the pitch for Karanka. Forshaw was under pressure from Colback but still managed to get a pass back to the goalkeeper.
It was soft and short, and Peacock-Farrell did not charge out to recover. Instead, the midfielder latched onto it, rounded the Leeds stopper and slotted into an empty net. Just four minutes in, it was a serious boost for a side that has been struggling.
Leeds then had reason to feel aggrieved after Jack Harrison was taken down while clean through on goal by Jack Robinson.
Referee England chose to show a yellow despite protests from the away side that Forest
