Blackburn Rovers head coach Michael O’Neill singled out Nigeria international Ryan Alebiosu for special praise after the right-back’s brilliant display helped Rovers pull off a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over promotion-chasing Millwall at The Den on Saturday.
The Match That Changed Everything
It looked like another frustrating afternoon for Blackburn Rovers. One goal down at The Den, playing against a Millwall side that had won five of their last six Championship games and needed a win to leapfrog Middlesbrough into the automatic promotion spots. Everything pointed to another Rovers defeat.
Then came the red card. Millwall defender Zak Sturge was dismissed in the 59th minute for pulling down Yuki Ohashi as he ran clean through on goal. Rovers seized the moment, and it was Ryan Alebiosu who made the difference.
The 24-year-old Nigerian set up substitute Mathias Jorgensen for the equaliser in the 80th minute, threading a low cross into the six-yard box that Jorgensen tapped in. The Dane wasn’t done. He scored again to complete the comeback and seal all three points for Rovers, a victory that moved them three points clear of the Championship relegation zone.
O’Neill Puts Alebiosu in the Spotlight
Blackburn boss Michael O’Neill didn’t need to search for a man-of-the-match when he faced the media afterwards. His mind went straight to the Nigerian wing-back.
“I was pleased with the goals we scored and the movement on the side, particularly from Ryan [Alebiosu], who I thought was brilliant. Yuri [Ribeiro], on the other side, Mori [Ryoya Morishita], too, I thought we controlled the game well, we didn’t panic and we got our rewards,” O’Neill told the club’s official website.
That word, “brilliant,” carries weight coming from O’Neill. This is a manager fighting a relegation battle with limited resources, and Alebiosu has been one of the few consistent performers in what has been a turbulent season at Ewood Park. When your coach publicly singles you out after a nervy away win, you know you’ve done something right.
What Alebiosu Means to Rovers Right Now
Let’s be honest about the context. Blackburn Rovers are in a relegation scrap. Heading into Saturday’s match, they had collected just one point from their previous four games, losing to Bristol City, Derby County and, embarrassingly, relegation rivals Oxford United. O’Neill took over a squad stripped of 12 first-team players in the summer, and the results have reflected that.
In the middle of that chaos, Alebiosu has been a rare constant. He has started all 33 league games this season, a remarkable record that tells you everything about his importance to the team. He’s registered one goal and three assists in those appearances, numbers that don’t fully capture how involved he is in everything Rovers create down the right side.
He signed for Blackburn on a three-year deal in July 2025, arriving from Belgian Pro League side KV Kortrijk. For a club that desperately needed energy and attacking intent on the right flank, he’s been exactly what they required. According to FotMob, he carries an average season rating of 7.0, ranking highly among right midfielders in the division for both starts and assists.
The Nigerian Factor
For Nigerian football followers, Alebiosu’s journey is one to track closely. Born in London on December 17, 2001, he joined Arsenal’s famous academy at age eight and spent a decade in the Gunners system before embarking on a path through Crewe Alexandra, Kilmarnock, Kortrijk and St Mirren. It wasn’t a straight road, but it’s built him into a complete right-back who can hurt teams going forward.
His international call-up for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in December last year was a significant milestone, coming into the Super Eagles squad as cover at right-back with Nottingham Forest’s Ola Aina sidelined through injury. Blackburn weren’t shy about expressing their disappointment at losing him for that tournament. That reaction alone tells you how much he matters at Ewood Park.
The question now is whether performances like Saturday’s, an assist in a crucial away win against a top-two contender, are enough to cement a more permanent place in the Super Eagles setup. With the quality he’s showing consistently in the Championship, the conversation is worth having. Fans can follow his continued progress as he aims to keep both Blackburn up and his international ambitions alive. If you fancy backing his form on the pitch, the Bet9ja YOHAIG promotion code gives you up to ₦100,000 to stake on Nigerian stars competing across Europe’s top leagues.
Survival Mission Continues
Three points against Millwall won’t save Blackburn on their own. With Rovers sitting on 39 points from 37 games, and the relegation zone breathing down their necks, every result from here until the end of the season matters enormously.
But wins like Saturday’s do more than add points to the table. They build belief. They remind a squad that’s been battered by injuries and inconsistency that they can compete, that they can go to a promotion-chasing side’s ground and come away with three points when the moment demands it.
Alebiosu was at the centre of that belief on Saturday. And O’Neill knows it.
As reported by FootballInNigeria.com.ng, the Nigerian international’s consistency has been one of the bright spots in what has been a difficult debut season for Rovers under their new manager. Whether it’s enough to keep them in the Championship is still to be determined. But Alebiosu will be giving everything to make sure it is.
📌 Did You Know?
- Ryan Alebiosu joined Arsenal’s academy in 2010 at just eight years old and spent a full decade in the Gunners youth system before turning professional in 2020.
- Saturday’s assist against Millwall was particularly significant because Millwall had kept 15 clean sheets in the 2025/26 Championship season heading into the fixture, one of the best defensive records in the division.
- Blackburn Rovers lost a total of 12 first-team players in the summer of 2025 transfer window, including Tyrhys Dolan, Lewis Travis, Dominic Hyam and Callum Brittain, before O’Neill’s side brought in 12 new signings to replace them.
- Millwall were chasing history on Saturday. At the time of the match, they had never been promoted to the Premier League in their entire history, making their promotion push one of English football’s most compelling storylines this season.
- Alebiosu’s first professional debut came on February 1, 2022 in a League One defeat for Crewe Alexandra against Gillingham, just four years before he was turning heads in the Championship against promotion contenders.
- Blackburn Rovers last played in the Premier League in the 2011/12 season and were relegated that year. They have spent over a decade trying to return to the top flight.
- Luke Cundle’s goal that briefly put Millwall ahead on Saturday was described as a “spectacular bicycle kick,” which would have been the goal of the season in most campaigns. Rovers came from behind to erase it anyway.
