Japhet Tanganga headed in a 90th-minute winner as Millwall snatched a vital 1-0 victory over fellow Sky Bet Championship strugglers Birmingham.
The Lions have won three of their four games since Neil Harris returned to the club for a second spell as manager, although they had to withstand some heavy pressure from the Blues in the second half at The Den.
But a dogged display was eventually rewarded as Millwall opened up a five-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone and left Birmingham still just one point above the bottom three.
Millwall had the game’s first big chance in the 11th minute when George Honeyman played a one-two with Duncan Watmore to go through on goal, but his attempted dinked finish was blocked by John Ruddy.
It came in the middle of a good spell for the Lions, with the Birmingham goalkeeper and captain again coming to his side’s rescue when he clawed away an effort from opposing skipper Jake Cooper.
Ruddy was fortunate, however, when he was beaten to the ball, following a ricochet off Michael Obafemi, by Watmore whose header dropped comfortably wide.
Another Birmingham header then went unpunished when a loose headed clearance by Marc Roberts dropped for Zian Flemming, who could only shoot tamely at Ruddy from outside the area.
It took the Blues 41 minutes to muster a chance of their own when Koji Miyoshi’s through ball played in Jay Stansfield and his shot from a tricky angle needed tipping away by Matija Sarkic.
Another opening for the visitors quickly followed when Alex Pritchard sent an effort wide from just outside the box as neither team could break the deadlock before half-time.
Having finally played themselves into the game towards the end of the first half, it was Birmingham who had the first opening after the restart as Lee Buchanan sent a rising shot wide.
Another good opportunity for Stansfield then came and went when he shot wide from inside the area after his initial shot from Juninho Bacuna’s cross had been blocked.
The Blues were then left furious when they weren’t awarded a penalty in the 63rd minute when Stansfield appeared to be held back from Bacuna’s corner by Millwall’s Joe Bryan.
The visitors continued to dominate the second-half proceedings, with Stansfield shooting off-target again from a presentable shooting position.
From nowhere, Millwall found a second wind and finally had another chance of their own when Flemming’s long throw ran for George Saville, who headed over with 15 minutes remaining.
Just when it looked as though the match would end in stalemate, the Lions snatched all three points when Tanganga rose to head in Saville’s corner and spark wild celebrations from the home supporters.
Michel proud Girona's Champions League bow despite late defeat
Michel has urged his team to be proud of their Champions League debut, despite a heartbreaking late defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
The visitors neutralised PSG's attack for much of the game, only for Paulo Gazzaniga, who had made a number of good saves, to let Nuno Mendes' tame delivery slip through his hands and into the back of the net.
The goalkeeper's own goal was the first in the 90th minute of a Champions League game since November 2022 (Porto's Ivan Marcano vs Atletico Madrid), while it was the first-ever such goal that proved to be the winner.
Despite the defeat, the Girona head coach praised his team's effort and the performance of his goalkeeper up until the goal.
"Now in the dressing room, people are a little bit down," Michel told reporters. "I told them that we have to be proud of the game we played.
"PSG subdued us, Gazzaniga made some good saves. There were two or three that could have been goals.
"We have to recognise that their victory is deserved but we are proud of the way we work.
"Let's see if we get another chance to come to Paris next year."
The Spaniard admitted his players were nervous in their first taste of Europe's elite club competition, but he was satisfied with their game as they faced a top-level team.
"At the start of the game, we were very nervous, you could see that. But as the first half went on, we found personality, commitment, attitude," he added.
"In the second half, we were tired. PSG pressed us more, we were continually defending a lot. We passed our first experience in the Champions League.
"We competed against a great team where the pressure can stiffen you and the team gave a good performance."
Girona face Feyenoord in their second league-phase fixture.
'Worse than giving birth' - Luis Enrique notes tough nature of PSG win
Luis Enrique compared Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League opener to childbirth as he admitted he did not enjoy watching their tense late win over Girona.
PSG secured victory after Girona's goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who had thwarted numerous efforts from the French champions, made a calamitous error in the final minutes.
Nuno Mendes' tame, low delivery into the box slipped through the goalkeeper's grasp and into the back of the net, snatching PSG all three points in a 1-0 win on Wednesday.
Though winning in fortuitous circumstances, PSG have now only lost one of their 37 home games in the group stage of the Champions League (W29 D7) since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, and Luis Enrique acknowledged the tough nature of this victory.
"I think we were superior, but Girona played us in circles and made us dizzy," Luis Enrique told Movistar Plus.
"At half-time, we said that if we didn't press, we were going to suffer. We had to win, and it was very difficult.
"It was very difficult. I told [Girona manager] Michel that this was worse than giving birth, with all due respect."
Under the new Champions League format, teams play eight matches against eight different opponents, with the top eight sides in the 36-team league automatically advancing to the last 16, and the next 16 playing a further knockout round.
Luis Enrique observed that the format creates uncertainty about the significance of results.
"Winning a match or any title is difficult, but we don't know the dimensions of this competition with this format," he added.
"We are going to have to play matches against teams that have easier schedules than ours. How many points are we going to need? There are many unknowns that need to be cleared up."
Despite the victory, PSG suffered a setback as striker Marco Asensio limped off just before half-time. However, Luis Enrique was confident in the strength of his squad.
"He felt a twinge. Marco had started the season well. This is professional football, and we have a very good squad."
PSG will next play Reims away in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Sahin hails Dortmund substitutes for snatching late win in Champions League opener
Borussia Dortmund rode their luck in their Champions League opener, but Nuri Sahin believes they deserved the three points against Club Brugge.
Dortmund won 3-0, with all of their goals coming in the final 14 minutes after their hosts had spurned several chances.
Brugge were the better side for much of the contest, but Jamie Gittens' brace and a penalty from Serhou Guirassy, who netted for the first time in a Dortmund shirt, sealed the win for the visitors.
In the process, Gittens became the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet.
And Sahin hailed his side's resilience for pushing them to victory.
"It was important to start with an away win against a tough opponent," Sahin said. "It was a good, attacking match from both teams.
"In the end, with the changes we had, I think we deserved to win."
However, Dortmund captain Emre Can admitted: "It wasn't a top performance but we took the win."
Midfielder Julian Brandt praised substitutes Gittens and Guirassy for their impact off the bench, which turned the contest in the team's favour.
"It was tough in the first half. We ran a lot," Brandt told DAZN. "It was a lot of work and a lot of attrition.
"At the end, you could see that the spaces were getting bigger. It's a good thing that the bench scores the goals.
"Once again, the substitutes decided the game."
Meanwhile, Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet rued his side's profligacy in front of goal when the score was level at 0-0.
"That's the Champions League," he said. "Our performance was very good. If we score the first ourselves, the scenario is ideal. But they did that, and then you get an exaggerated scoreline.
"The difference is the squad depth of Dortmund. What they have on the bench... after a gruelling match, it is not easy against someone [like Gittens] who comes fresh from the bench.
"We can be very satisfied with our match. The football was very good and we created chances. We just have to seize our moments. Then we could even win."
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