Match ends, Aston Villa 1, Millwall 0.
Aston Villa 1-0 Millwall: Jonathan Kodjia earns record-breaking 10th straight win
- From the section Championship
Dominant Aston Villa beat struggling Millwall to strengthen their grip on a play-off position with a record-breaking 10th successive win.
Jonathan Kodjia stabbed home Anwar El Ghazi's cross from close range to break a club record that has stood since 1910.
Kodjia, El Ghazi, Jack Grealish and substitute Andre Green all missed chances to make the margin of victory more comfortable.
The win extends fifth-placed Villa's cushion over Bristol City in seventh to nine points, although the Robins have two games in hand, while Millwall remain 21st.
Villa's 2-1 defeat at The Den in October's corresponding fixture - their sole game under the caretaker stewardship of Kevin MacDonald following Steve Bruce's sacking - left them languishing 15th in the Championship.
They continued to hover around mid-table for much of the early part of Dean Smith's reign but their stunning recent form has all-but secured a play-off spot in a season most Villa fans were preparing to write off.
That successful sequence has owed much to the creativity of Grealish - since his return from injury - and the goals of Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham, but it was the supporting cast that shone against Millwall.
With Abraham sidelined by a shoulder issue, Ivory Coast forward Kodjia made the most of a rare start, his first in two months, with a poacher's finish set up by the excellent El Ghazi to ensure this Villa side's place in club folklore.
They should have won more comfortably but Millwall keeper David Martin produced a string of second-half saves, two from El Ghazi and one each from Grealish and Green, while Kodjia prodded wide after a fine solo run.
The visitors - three points above 22nd-placed Rotherham in the fight to avoid the final Championship relegation spot - could have snatched a point but Jake Cooper headed wide as Villa keeper Jed Steer failed to meet a free-kick.
Line-ups
Aston Villa
- 12Steer
- 27El Mohamady
- 15Jedinak
- 40Mings
- 3TaylorBooked at 81mins
- 6WhelanSubstituted forHourihaneat 60'minutes
- 37AdomahSubstituted forGreenat 60'minutes
- 7McGinn
- 10Grealish
- 22El Ghazi
- 26KodjiaSubstituted forDavisat 76'minutesBooked at 85mins
Substitutes
- 8Lansbury
- 14Hourihane
- 17Davis
- 19Green
- 20Bjarnason
- 24Elphick
- 33Sarkic
Millwall
- 16Martin
- 12RomeoSubstituted forElliottat 89'minutes
- 15Pearce
- 5CooperBooked at 27mins
- 3MeredithSubstituted forO'Brienat 64'minutesBooked at 90mins
- 44Marshall
- 28Leonard
- 18TunnicliffeSubstituted forMorisonat 79'minutes
- 11Ferguson
- 7Wallace
- 9Gregory
Substitutes
- 2McLaughlin
- 6Williams
- 13Amos
- 19Elliott
- 20Morison
- 22O'Brien
- 26Skalak
- Referee:
- Tim Robinson
- Attendance:
- 39,839
Match Stats
Home TeamAston VillaAway TeamMillwall
- Possession
- Home61%
- Away39%
- Shots
- Home18
- Away13
- Shots on Target
- Home7
- Away1
- Corners
- Home12
- Away3
- Fouls
- Home17
- Away8
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Aston Villa 1, Millwall 0.
Attempt blocked. Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Booking
Aiden O'Brien (Millwall) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Aiden O'Brien (Millwall).
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Aiden O'Brien.
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Aiden O'Brien (Millwall).
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Jake Cooper.
Attempt blocked. Andre Green (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by John McGinn.
Substitution
Substitution, Millwall. Tom Elliott replaces Mahlon Romeo.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by David Martin.
Attempt saved. Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by John McGinn.
Foul by Keinan Davis (Aston Villa).
Ryan Leonard (Millwall) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Lee Gregory (Millwall) right footed shot from very close range is too high. Assisted by Alex Pearce with a headed pass following a corner.
Corner, Millwall. Conceded by Tyrone Mings.
Booking
Keinan Davis (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for hand ball.
Hand ball by Keinan Davis (Aston Villa).
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Ryan Leonard.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by David Martin.
Attempt saved. Andre Green (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Attempt blocked. Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by John McGinn.
Booking
Neil Taylor (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Neil Taylor (Aston Villa).
David Martin (Millwall) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, Millwall. David Martin tries a through ball, but Lee Gregory is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Millwall. Steve Morison replaces Ryan Tunnicliffe.
Foul by Jack Grealish (Aston Villa).
Mahlon Romeo (Millwall) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Conor Hourihane.
Substitution
Substitution, Aston Villa. Keinan Davis replaces Jonathan Kodjia.
Foul by Ahmed El Mohamady (Aston Villa).
Shane Ferguson (Millwall) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt blocked. Ben Marshall (Millwall) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jed Wallace with a cross.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Alex Pearce.
Attempt blocked. Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by John McGinn.
Attempt missed. Jake Cooper (Millwall) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Alex Pearce following a set piece situation.
Hand ball by Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa).
