Birmingham City player ratings vs Wrexham: Carlos Vicente electric in emphatic win

Birmingham City defeated Wrexham 2-0 courtesy of goals from Carlos Vicente and Christoph Klarer

Birmingham City reigned supreme over Wrexham again at St Andrew’s to boost broadcasters’ hopes for another edition of the ‘Hollywood Derby’ next season.

Carlos Vicente and Christoph Klarer notched second half goals to cut Blues’ run of defeats and ease some of the pressure of manager Chris Davies.

The victory does little for Blues in terms of their league position – now 15th with four games to play – but it does dent Wrexham’s hopes of a fourth straight promotion. The Red Dragons are four points adrift of the play-offs having played a game more than sixth-placed Hull City.

Blues started promisingly and made most of the early running down their right. It was a charge down that side from Vicente which won the corner that created the game’s first chance.

Kai Wagner – back in the XI after a shoulder injury – whipped the ball in for August Priske to guide a header into Arthur Okonkwo’s grateful hands.

Blues were far more direct than usual and a crossfield ball from Tomoki Iwata found the advancing Wagner to head back into the danger-zone where Ibrahim Osman volleyed over the bar.

Wrexham worked their way into the contest towards the end of the first half, largely through the dynamism of Issa Kabore on their right flank.

Kabore had a few battles with Wagner without finding the cross that target man Kieffer Moore craved.

Blues’ best chance of the opening period arrived in first half stoppage time when Vicente latched onto a hopeful ball in behind Wrexham’s back-line to face up Okonkwo in a one-on-one situation. Okonkwo rushed out and Vicente couldn’t guide the ball underneath the goalkeeper.

Vicente atoned for that miss three minutes into the second half to give Blues the lead with a well-placed header.

Blues recycled the ball to Wagner on the left and his cross was clearly aimed for Priske – who was being held in the middle – but Vicente stole in behind him to plant a header into the top corner.

Blues skipper Christoph Klarer doubled the lead with 20 minutes to play. A left-wing corner from substitute Paik Seung-ho evaded everyone in the middle and Klarer was on hand to stab home at the far post.

Two-nil up and cruising, Blues were enjoying themselves. Vicente’s next whiz down the wing saw him produce a cross on-the-run that was an Okonkwo fingertip away from being headed home by Osman.

Blues didn’t need the gloss of a third goal and, little over a week after Davies and his players were jeered for losing to Blackburn, they were serenaded off the pitch after a morale-boosting win.

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James Beadle 6

Beadle was solid with his hands and his short build-up play. As ever, a few long kicks went astray, but there wasn’t much to complain about today.

Bright Osayi-Samuel 8

The right-back was fortunate to keep his place in the XI after a poor performance at Ipswich but he repaid Davies for selecting him with one of his best displays of the season. He defended well and opted not to get in Vicente’s way when the Spaniard hurried forward.

Phil Neumann 8

Neumann was happy to fight Moore when Wrexham lumped the ball forward and didn’t shirk anything. The German’s distribution has been questionable this season but was much better here.

Christoph Klarer 8.5

A dominant display from Blues’ captain rounded off by his third league goal of the season. Klarer was a match for Moore and that blew apart Wrexham’s game-plan.

Kai Wagner 9

Having Wagner back was a real bonus for Blues and he was their creator-in-chief against Wrexham. He created two opportunities for Priske and Osman before half-time and a pinpoint delivery early in the second half was headed home by Vicente. Wagner had a right old dust-up with Kabore and got the better of the Wrexham man.

Jhon Solis 7

You can see why Solis has endeared himself to supporters. He was all-action and willing to put a tackle in, and he played with purpose in a useful 45-minute showing. Davies was never going to let him see the game out on a booking.

Tomoki Iwata 8

Dubbed a right-back who can play in midfield by Davies recently, Iwata showed that he has something to offer in midfield with a commanding performance against Wrexham. The 29-year-old was applauded off by supporters after a tireless, wholehearted effort.

Carlos Vicente 9*

It is hard to look beyond Vicente for Man of the Match after a game in which he showed us exactly what all the fuss was about. Vicente buried a header to give Blues the lead and tortured Wrexham leftie George Thomason at times with his searing pace.

Jay Stansfield 8

Stansfield did not stop running and thoroughly earned his standing ovation when replaced by Laird for the final minutes. The 23-year-old displayed the work ethic that has made him so popular in these parts and combined well with Vicente on occasions.

Ibrahim Osman 7

Osman caused Wrexham plenty of problems with his direct running and was unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet. The Ghanaian gets people off their seats and that is a rare commodity in the structured football played in this day and age.

August Priske 7

A useful foil for the three attackers behind him on what was his first league start at St Andrew's. You couldn't fault his effort and he will be appreciated by his teammates.

SUBS

Paik Seung-ho (for Solis, 46) 6.5

Not as tidy on the ball as Solis and Iwata were but Paik did register his first assist of the season with a corner that Klarer converted.

Demarai Gray (for Osman, 78) N/A

Tommy Doyle (for Iwata, 85) N/A

Ethan Laird (for Stansfield, 88) N/A

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