Ilia Gruev becomes only the third player in Premier League history to perform extraordinary feat vs Nottingham Forest
Leeds United drastically boosted their survival hopes on Friday as they demolished Nottingham Forest 3-1 at the City Ground.
Despite fears that Leeds could be dragged back into a relegation battle after their 4-0 defeat to Arsenal last weekend, they quickly bounced back to dominate the Reds and pick up a vital three points.
The result has seen Leeds pull nine points clear of the drop zone before West Ham’s away trip to West Ham, with Daniel Farke producing a remarkable comeback at Elland Road to save his Peacocks career.
Many players have been vital to the West Yorkshire side’s recent turn in form since December, and few have been better than Ilia Gruev.
Ilia Gruev puts on a show in Leeds’ victory vs Nottingham Forest
Gruev has long been an important player at Leeds United, and since their promotion back to the Premier League, he has continued to impress.
After struggling to hold down a place in the starting XI, the midfielder has firmly cemented himself in the lineup in recent weeks, having started every match since the turn of the year.
However, the 25-year-old arguably put in his best performance at Elland Road on Friday as he picked up two assists in the vital victory.
Ilia Gruev for Leeds vs Nottingham Forest is only the third player Opta has on record since 2003-04 to complete 25+ passes (43), have a passing accuracy of 98% or more and register two assists in a Premier League match. #lufc pic.twitter.com/ZEDdwyhp0w
— Jonny Cooper (@JRCooper26) February 6, 2026
Now, according to Opta stat man Jonny Cooper via X on 6 February, Gruev became just the third player on record to complete 25+ passes, have a passing accuracy of 98 per cent or more and register two assists in a Premier League match.
How good was Gruev vs Nottingham Forest?
According to Fotmob on 7 February, Gruev had an excellent game against Nottingham Forest.
On top of his two assists, he completed 98 per cent of his passes, created four chances, had two shots, three touches in the opposition’s box and performed four recoveries.
| Ilia Gruev’s stats vs Nottingham Forest | |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Chances created | 4 |
| Shots | 2 |
| Passing accuracy | 98% |
| Touches in opposition box | 3 |
| Recoveries | 4 |
As a result, his performance proved to be vital to Leeds’ eventual victory, with the Peacocks now having a real chance to push up the Premier League table, rather than continuing to look over their shoulder until the end of the campaign.
Hopefully, Gruev will be able to keep this form up going into the second half of the season, as Leeds look to achieve survival as quickly as possible.