Blues face tough task after defeat

Birmingham paid the price for Nikola Zigic's early saved penalty as a narrow 1-0 defeat in Braga means they now face an uphill battle in their bid to progress into the knockout stages of the Europa League.

The Serbian saw his 11th-minute spot-kick saved by goalkeeper Quim and the Portuguese hosts went on to claim victory thanks to a touch of fortune as Hugo Viana's 51st-minute strike took a huge deflection off Curtis Davies.

The result sees Braga qualify for the final 32 from a tight Group H based and means Blues must now defeat NK Maribor in the final round of fixtures and hope Club Brugge and Braga do not play out a draw, which would see the Belgian side through.

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