Birmingham City got off to a disappointing start to 2024 with a 3-0 defeat away at Championship promotion chasers Leeds United on New Year's Day, piling further pressure on Wayne Rooney. Blues did a decent job in the opening half an hour as they defended resolutely to keep a usually electric Leeds quiet but Patrick Bamford delivered a sucker-punch header in the 34th minute, taking advantage of an unforced error. The hosts then went on to control the encounter.
The opening goal came as Daniel James beat Manny Longelo for pace and delivered a floating, deep cross to cause all sorts of trouble. Dion Sanderson and Emanuel Aiwu got in each other's way, allowing Bamford to get in between the pair and head in at the far post. John Ruddy had no chance of saving it as the Leeds striker was merely a couple of yards out when he connected with the ball. An avoidable goal, for sure.
The hosts should have taken the lead a few phases of play earlier as Georginio Rutter sprinted into the area, forced a save from Ruddy, and the ball rebounded to James. The former Manchester United winger struck from around 10 yards out, but a heroic sliding block in front of an open net from Blues' makeshift left-back Longelo denied a certain goal.
It looked as if it was going to be just a narrow 1-0 deficit going into the break but one James took advantage of another to give Birmingham a mountain to climb. Blues midfielder Jordan James gave the ball away cheaply, allowing Leeds wing-back Junior Firpo to drill in a cross for Dan James, who deflected the ball off Lee Buchanan into the net for 2-0.
Juninho Bacuna had a glorious opportunity to get a goal back for Blues early in the second period but the Curaçao international fluffed his lines, putting the ball wide of the left post. Bacuna, who made a brilliant run into the channel and was fed in on goal by Siriki Dembele, will look back at that one with great disappointment.
Bamford nearly got a second goal as he hit a low and hard effort against the post, before Summerville responded on the rebound. Buchanan was there to make Blues' second goalmouth clearance of the game, however, taking the brunt of Summerville's shot to the face. There was a brief concern for Buchanan as he had only just returned from concussion but the auxiliary left centre-back was fine to carry on.
Despite a double midfield substitution from Rooney, there was still a total lack of control in the centre of the park and Leeds pounced yet again, eventually making it three to the good. Summerville, who had looked a real threat from wide all game long, got his reward as he took a Firpo cut-back into his stride and passed the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.
Leeds searched for more goals, looking a real threat as they dominated possession, but failed to extend their advantage further. Blues, meanwhile, never looked like getting back into the game. With all of that in mind, here are our Birmingham player ratings.
1. John Ruddy - 7
Made seven saves in total, keeping Blues in the game for a while. Made a couple of decent claims, too. The result certainly isn't due to any faults from the 37-year-old.
2. Emanuel Aiwu - 5
Got in a mix-up with Sanderson, which goes down as an error for Bamford’s opener. Kept giving the ball away, too, though he did play one superb through ball to send Dembele through on goal early on. Credit does go to the Austrian, in fairness, for a sliding challenge to stop Summerville making it 3-0 earlier than he did.
3. Dion Sanderson - 5
The skipper will be disappointed he didn’t deal better with James’ cross, allowing Bamford to score. He did make a last-ditch tackle to stop Bamford pulling the trigger in the third minute, though, and maintained impressive passing accuracy.
4. Lee Buchanan - 7
Did well in a slightly unnatural left centre-back role, making a handful of clearances to keep the score down. Also made a terrific, courageous block to stop Summerville scoring a rebound. A shame he couldn’t recreate that as Summerville did eventually get a goal.