Birmingham City were dispatched 3-0 by promotion hopefuls Millwall at The Den
21:44, 25 Feb 2026Updated 22:13, 25 Feb 2026
Jhon Solis makes a foul in Birmingham City’s defeat to Millwall before being sent off
Millwall put three past Birmingham City on a night where Chris Davies’ play-off chasers came unstuck away from home.
Blues were unable to respond to victories for Wrexham, Southampton and Bristol City on Tuesday evening and went down 3-0 at The Den.
Femi Azeez, Tristan Crama and Jake Cooper notched for Millwall, and Blues had midfielder Jhon Solis sent off in the second half.
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Away days at The Den are often about earning the right to play and Blues battled away in an opening 15 minutes where neither team threatened to score.
Jhon Solis worked home goalkeeper Anthony Patterson for the first time when Kai Wagner’s right-wing free-kick travelled through to him at the far post.
The first meaningful chance of the first half came midway through it and it fell to Jay Stansfield. The striker latched onto Crama’s loose back pass and, after ignoring August Priske in the centre, fired a shot towards the far corner that was tipped around the post by Patterson.
The fine margins in this race for the play-offs dictated that Millwall scored from their next foray forward.
Azeez, who missed Millwall’s heavy defeat at St Andrew’s in November through injury, cut in from his right-wing position and found the top corner in stunning fashion.
Azeez inadvertently created Millwall’s second goal six minutes later. The winger’s ferocious free-kick from 25 yards cannoned back off the post for Crama to slot the ball home on the follow up.
There was one final hairy moment for Blues in the first half when Tomoki Iwata appeared to tug Camiel Neghli’s shirt inside the box. Referee Dean Whitestone deliberated for a second before sparing Blues’ further punishment before half-time.
A double dose of pain would arrive in the first eight minutes of the second half for Blues.
Millwall skipper Cooper quickly made the game safe by prodding home from close range after Blues had allowed a deep free-kick to drift to the far post where Crama was waiting to cut the ball back.
A rush of blood from Solis was the last thing Blues needed in the immediate aftermath of Millwall’s third goal. The Colombian midfielder tried to make up for a poor touch and lunged in on Casper De Norre to earn his second yellow card of the night.
A concerning injury to Kai Wagner midway through the half added to Blues’ woe. The left-back injured his left shoulder in an aerial challenge and couldn’t continue.
Losing Solis – and possibly Wagner – is not what Blues needed ahead of their meeting with Middlesbrough on Monday.
Third-placed Millwall moved 10 points clear of Blues, who surrendered ninth to Preston by virtue of their heavy defeat, and there are now five points between Blues and the play-offs.
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James Beadle 5
Beadle made a string of fine saves at the weekend but it felt like everything that was on target for Millwall went in. Having said that, you wouldn’t point fingers at Beadle for any of Millwall’s goals.
Bright Osayi-Samuel 5
The right-back did excellently to fashion a crossing opportunity in the first half before floating the ball out of play. That kind of sums up his end product right now. Blues need more from him in the final third.
Christoph Klarer 5
Blues’ skipper fought until the end but he won’t be pleased with the goals that were conceded. The first from Azeez was a worldie but the other two were set piece goals that Blues weren’t alive to.
Jonathan Panzo 5.5
After two infallible performances in the heart of Blues’ back-line against Leeds and Norwich, Panzo dropped below perfect at The Den. He tried to play with physicality from the get-go but he wasn’t able to dominate Millwall’s target men Coburn and Ivanovic. But he did make a good challenge on Watson at the end to prevent further embarrassment.
Kai Wagner 5
Wagner found the going tough against Millwall’s dangerman Azeez but plugged away before a nasty looking shoulder injury ended his evening.
Kai Wagner of Birmingham City
Jhon Solis 3
We’ve seen a lot of good from Solis in his short Blues career but we got the bad and the ugly in 53 minutes at Millwall. Solis played himself into trouble with a poor touch, and at the exact moment when Blues needed cool heads, he didn’t think and lunged in for a second yellow card.
Tomoki Iwata 4.5
Iwata was run ragged in midfield by Millwall’s Mitchell and De Norre. He was fortunate not to concede a penalty in the first half for a tug on Neghli too on a night he will be quick to forget.
Carlos Vicente 5
Vicente did his job defensively and Blues weren’t undone down their right while the Spaniard was on the pitch, but he didn’t offer a lot going forward and that is largely what we’re judging him on.
Jay Stansfield 5
A disappointing night for Stansfield who had a great chance to put Blues ahead before Millwall started their march to victory.
Ibrahim Osman 4.5
Osman ran down a few blind alleys and became the target of the home fans when he clashed with Leonard. Davies spared him the second half abuse.
August Priske 5
The young Dane imposed himself at Norwich but he got a bit of a lesson from an experienced Championship centre-back in Millwall captain Cooper. Priske worked tirelessly before being sacrificed following Solis’s red card.
SUBS
Demarai Gray (for Osman, 46) 5.5
Started purposefully and seemed to be Blues’ go-to before Millwall’s third goal and Solis’s red card killed any chance of a comeback.
Tommy Doyle (for Priske, 54) 5
It wasn’t Doyle’s best game in possession. He will now get a start against Middlesbrough on Monday.
Ethan Laird (for Wagner, 68) 5
Laird is clearly still feeling his way in after five months out but Blues might need him to start against Middlesbrough if Wagner is out.
Patrick Roberts (for Vicente, 80) N/A
Marvin Ducksch (for Stansfield, 80) N/A
Not used: Allsop, Neumann, Robinson, Fujimoto
How did you rate the Blues players? Let us know in the comments…