Málaga CF’s away debut of the season took place at the RCDE Stadium. The first few minutes of play were based on respect and back and forth between both sides. The home team started off with advanced lines and piled the pressure on upfront. Fruit of this strategy was the first arrival to Kameni’s area by Piatti. Camacho arrived at the cross and deflected the ball to a corner. The Malaguistas didn’t hesitate in their reaction. In minute 5, Sandro Ramírez gained possession in central midfield. Without thinking twice, the striker launched a right-footer that came very close to the left post.
Three minutes later, Málaga had their second approach to the area. Juanpi connected with Jony following a good through ball. The Asturian player didn’t hesitate to face up to the rival defence, launching the ball in front of the target. Subsequently, Ricca was shown the first yellow card of the game after bringing down Hernán Pérez near the side line. Both teams lurked around the areas, but didn’t generate any clear goal opportunities. In minute 27 of play, Gerard Moreno entered the Martiricos area and beat Kameni with a shot that touched Llorente before finding the net. Bad luck. Juande Ramos’ team tried to level up the scoreboard before the half-time whistle, with a high shot from Juanpi in front of the area.
The second half kicked off with a change to the Malaguista line-up. Juande Ramos substituted Ricca – with one yellow card – and brought on Miguel Torres. The visitors moved forward in the search for an equaliser. Meanwhile, Espanyol leisurely continued in their quest to put the match to bed. The La Mancha-born coach made another change in minute 55, bringing on Charles in place of Recio. Málaga tightened up, but following a Piatti free kick, Gerard Moreno scored the second goal for the Catalan side. Kameni was unable to prevent the ball finding the net to give the locals a 2-0 lead. Hernán Pérez came close to a third, but a minute later Málaga scored. Llorente converted a good cross from Rosales. The ball touched the Espanyol keeper and snuck into the goal.
The Andalucían side was moving up. Álvaro was shown the yellow card (minute 67) after bringing down Sandro as he was about to enter the area. Málaga tried their best but failed to level. Referee, Gil Manzano gave Koné a yellow card in minute 73. Juande then made the decision to bring on En Nesyri. The striker replaced Keko (minute 76) to make his debut in an official match wearing the Blue and Whites’ shirt. Charles narrowly missed out on a goal in the 85th minute. Sandro connected a pass from the Brazilian striker, but the local goalkeeper deflected the shot. Piatti was also given a yellow card two minutes before the final whistle, for bringing down Miguel Torres. By maintaining the pressure, the visitors equalised. Charles took advantage of a pass from Camacho to slam the ball past Roberto in minute 90. Juande Ramos’ team went in search of goal number three before full-time, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
Match stats
Málaga CF: Kameni, Rosales, Llorente, Koné, Ricca (Miguel Torres 45’), Camacho, Recio (Charles 55’), Keko (En Nesyri 76’), Jony, Juanpi and Sandro.
RCD Espanyol: Roberto, Javi López, Álvaro, Duarte, M. Roca (Diop 86’), Víctor Sánchez, Hernán Pérez (Reyes 69’), Javi Fuego, Piatti, Gerard Moreno and Baptistao (Caicedo 62’).
Goals: Gerard Moreno (28’ y 60’), Llorente (66’) and Charles (90’).
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano showed the yellow card to Ricca in minute 8, Álvaro (67’), Koné (73’) and Piatti (88’).
Information: RDCE Stadium in front of 17,725 fans.
