A sunny afternoon with many women in the stands in celebration of International Women’s Day. On the pitch at Martiricos, which looked flawless, there was only one change to Pellicer’s starting line-up, the return of team captain Adrián in place of Keidi Bare.
In the initial stages of play, both teams had lengthy possession in search of control of the ball. Víctor Fernández’s men generated their first chance in 10’ with a shot from Soro that grazed the left post. Málaga, with a highly active Adrián, piled the pressure on the rival.
Midway through the first half the first great opportunity came for the Malaguistas, with a close-call for Pacheco in 23’. Four minutes later, the second arrival by the visitors saw Puado test Munir’s reflexes, with the keeper saving a shot from Luis Suárez immediately afterwards (33’) following a pacey counter-attack. The response came straight away with an attempt from Juanpi that collided with the post in 34’, and an Adrián header in 38’ from a Pacheco corner. Just before half-time, from another corner, Adrián narrowly missed out on a header into goal.
In the second half, Sadiku, in 48’, sent the ball to the back of the net from a Tete Morente pass, but he was in an offside position. The winger, yet again, generated a great deal of imbalance on the right side. However, Zaragoza also showed their credentials. Soro, in minute 52, almost scored from a counter-attack. Then a cross-shot from Puado, in 58’, forced Munir to make a superb save.
Keidi, in 60’, substituted Luis Muñoz who was shown the yellow card. From the minute he joined the game, the Albanian boosted the strength in the wide area. Pellicer didn’t wait too long to make his second substitution, bringing on Renato Santos for Pacheco in 71’. The Portuguese winger, with a strong shot saved by Cristian Álvarez, tried his luck in 73’. Buenacasa, in place of Sadiku, took the role of striker in 80’. Five minutes later, the Malaguista served up a ball to Adrián who headed the ball into the hands of Álvarez.
Then, the balance tipped at La Rosaleda. Luis Suárez scored for Zaragoza in the closing stages of the game (0-1, 86’). Despite the blow, Málaga went in search of an equaliser with insistence, with the push of Luis Hernández’s throw-ins and even Munir as centre-forward. However, 0-1 was the final result, bringing an end to the run of nine matches on the bounce without defeat at home. Therefore, MCF remains in a mid-table position in LaLigaSmartBank with 38 points.
