Leicester City’s nightmare run continued at The Den as they fell 1-0 to Millwall, a result that now piles huge pressure on manager Marti Cifuentes and leaves fans questioning whether his time at the club is nearing its end.
A first-half goal by Femi Azeez sealed the game for Millwall, who took all three points and strengthened their position in the Championship playoff race. Leicester, meanwhile, have now won just one of their last eight matches, leaving them eight points adrift of the automatic promotion spots.
Millwall made one change to their starting line-up from their 2-0 win over Stoke City last week, with Luke Cundle replacing the injured Will Smallbone. Leicester started brightly—Jordan Ayew and Aaron Ramsey combined well early on, only to see Ramsey’s close-range effort saved.
The home side grew into the contest, and in the 18th minute Casper De Norre’s clever pass found Azeez, who forced a fine stop from Jakub Stolarczyk. The Foxes’ biggest chance came ten minutes before half-time when Abdul Fatawu broke in behind but lashed his shot over the bar.
Just before the interval, Millwall broke the deadlock. De Norre lofted a long ball from midfield into Azeez’s path; he shrugged off Luke Thomas and delicately chipped over Stolarczyk to make it 1-0.
The second half brought little change. Millwall were awarded a penalty after Azeez was brought down by Harry Winks, but Stolarczyk saved Mihailo Ivanovic’s spot-kick to keep Leicester alive. Despite that lifeline, Cifuentes’ side never truly threatened to equalise—Julian Carranza’s overhead attempt drifting just wide was as close as they came.
Millwall defended resolutely and closed the game out, securing their fourth straight win. For Leicester, it was another lifeless display—one that exposed the growing cracks within the squad.
After full-time, tension reached boiling point. As the away supporters voiced their frustration, captain Jannik Vestergaard walked straight down the tunnel, still wearing the armband, without acknowledging the fans.
“The minute sections of the away end started booing, Jannik Vestergaard walked away and down the tunnel, while wearing the armband. Sums it up!”
That moment perfectly captured the disconnection between the players, the fans, and the manager. Supporters are losing patience fast, calling Cifuentes’ leadership into question.
“Manager is everything, look at Faes, Winks & co under Enzo, they’d run through brick walls.”
Under Enzo Maresca, Leicester looked united and fierce; under Cifuentes, they appear lost and uninspired.
“His man-management is abysmal, rewarding let-downs, hindering youth he never stopped going on about. On top of that, his tactics are absolutely abysmal, League 2 stuff.”
The fans’ verdict is damning, and with Leicester’s promotion hopes fading, Cifuentes may now be running out of time to turn it around.