Anthony Musaba scored one goal and made another as Sheffield Wednesday extended Millwall’s winless run to eight matches with a 2-0 victory at The Den.
The Owls had only scored seven away goals all season ahead of the crucial clash, but they were in front at the break after Musaba set up Ike Ugbo before finding the back of the net himself.
The Lions fought desperately during an improved second-half performance but failed to carve out many clear-cut chances on their way to their fourth consecutive defeat and seventh in that eight-game run.
The hosts started brightly as they looked to bounce back from their crushing defeat at the hands of Ipswich, Tom Bradshaw heading wide from the centre of the penalty area inside five minutes.
The crowd came alive after a crunching challenge from right wing-back Danny McNamara.
The Owls struggled to build momentum during the opening 20 minutes, with their only real threat coming from balls in behind to Troyes loanee Ugbo.
However, in the 31st minute, the Canada international tapped home from close range to give his side the lead following a sensational run and cross from Musaba.
Ryan Leonard produced a long-range shot from the edge of the box as the Lions tried to muster a response but things soon went from bad to worse for Joe Edwards’ side.
Wednesday stalwart Barry Bannan found Musaba with a delicious pass and the Dutch winger made no mistake, stroking the ball past Matija Sarkic and into the bottom right corner for his sixth goal of the season.
That sparked jubilant scenes in the away end, while Millwall’s players faced a chorus of boos at the half-time whistle.
Zian Flemming almost got his side back in the game after the break, forcing an excellent stop from James Beadle before getting on the end of the resulting corner.
Then the Lions’ top scorer won a free-kick on the edge of the box, only to see it rebound off the wall and away to safety.
The hosts almost reduced the deficit to one in the 63rd minute but Duncan Watmore’s driven effort was cleared off the line by Di’Shon Bernard.
Flemming had a penalty appeal waved away by referee Geoff Eltringham with 20 minutes left after a collision with Marvin Johnson inside the penalty area.
Then seven minutes later, Aidomo Emakhu beat his man before conjuring a driven delivery across goal that ultimately came to nothing.
The hosts deserved something for their efforts in the second half but nobody could get on the end of Ryan Longman’s fantastic cross after some nice work from Flemming in the build-up.
Wednesday’s Ashley Fletcher was shown a red card for a second bookable offence in stoppage time, but it made no difference as Millwall slipped within a point of the relegation zone.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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