Millwall Vs Birmingham: Azeez Inspires 3-0 Win as Blues Finish with 10 Men

Femi Azeez’s volley and two set-piece assists propelled Millwall to a 3-0 victory over Birmingham City, ending the Blues’ eight-match unbeaten run and moving Millwall up to third in the Championship. The match matters now because the result reversed Millwall’s recent home defeat at the weekend and left Birmingham reduced to 10 men after Jhon Solis was sent off for a second yellow.

Millwall Vs Birmingham: Azeez’s set-pieces decide the contest

The millwall vs birmingham encounter was settled largely from dead-ball situations. Azeez opened the scoring with a powerful volley after chesting down Tristan Crama’s cushioned header, a strike that was recorded as his eighth goal of the season. He then struck a 30-yard free kick that James Beadle pushed onto the post; the rebound fell to Crama, who side-footed home to make it 2-0 before half-time. Early in the second half another floated Azeez free kick caused chaos in the Birmingham area, struck the back of Jhon Solis as he tried to duck under it, and led to a cut-back finished by Jake Cooper.

Femi Azeez’s influence: scorer, creator, catalyst

Azeez’s impact was threefold: the volley that opened the scoring, the long-range free kick that rebounded for Crama’s goal, and the later free kick that resulted in Cooper’s third. His set-piece deliveries were the proximate cause of two of Millwall’s three goals and central to the sequence that forced Birmingham onto the back foot. What makes this notable is how a single player’s dead-ball quality translated directly into a decisive 3-0 margin and a change in league position for Millwall.

Jhon Solis red card at The Den altered the contest

The match at The Den swung further away from Birmingham within the first 10 minutes of the second half. The second Azeez free kick struck Solis and allowed Crama to act, and then four minutes later Solis received a second yellow for a late challenge on Casper De Norre, leaving Birmingham with 10 players. The numerical disadvantage compounded the damage from the earlier set-piece goals and constrained any chance of a Blues revival; later on Camiel Neghli and Macaulay Langstaff came close to adding to Millwall’s tally, but Birmingham could not claw back momentum.

Chris Davies: set-pieces and basics cost Birmingham

Birmingham City manager Chris Davies said his team had failed to compete and had been below the required level for a match at The Den. Speaking to Radio WM, he said the players had to "hold our hands up" and accept they did not deserve anything from the match. Davies singled out set-pieces and errors as decisive: the first goal was from a long throw and described as "an outstanding moment of quality, " the second came from a shot that hit the post and rebounded, and the third stemmed from a wide free kick. He warned that the team had been short on the "bouncing balls and ugly side to the game, " and that those lapses had cost them.

Match moments and officiating: Patterson saves and a denied penalty

There were several concrete moments that shaped the scoreline: Millwall goalkeeper Anthony Patterson made a full-length save to turn Jay Stansfield’s shot around the post, and Birmingham keeper James Beadle managed to push Azeez’s 30-yard free kick onto the post before Crama reacted to score. Earlier, Macaulay Langstaff appeared to be hauled down by Tomoki Iwata as he chased a long throw into the Birmingham area, but referee Dean Whitestone was unmoved when Millwall players appealed for a penalty.

Birmingham City Football Club messaging and immediate context

Club channels remain active in the aftermath: the Birmingham City Football Club site includes the instruction "Tab to one the items and press space-bar or enter to start dragging it" and encourages supporters to "Stay connected with exclusive Birmingham FC updates, match highlights, and behind-the-scenes content—straight to your inbox. "

The defeat ended Birmingham’s eight-match unbeaten run in the league and halted the momentum they carried into this fixture after winning their last three away Championship games. Millwall, meanwhile, responded to a recent home loss to Portsmouth by moving up to third place. The timing matters because both teams face consequential fixtures ahead: the truncated quote in the provided context lists upcoming away matches against Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Hull and Preston—details that underline how quickly league fortunes can shift. The player and disciplinary incidents from this match will be points of focus for both clubs as they prepare for those challenges.