The Blue and Whites faced the Red and Whites on this chilly December evening, kicking off at 20:30 at La Rosaleda, the final league duel of 2020. It’s been more than 22 years since the outfit from La Rioja (CD Logroñés) visited Martiricos to play the Malaguista squad.
On the pitch, MCF dominated the ball in the first half. The Blue and Whites made more approaches to the opposing goal. Cristian generated the most promising opportunity of the first 45 minutes. The midfielder executed a powerful shot from the front of the area that grazed the post in 18’. In addition, Joaquín Muñoz sent a cross from the left in 26’ that brushed past Orlando Sá. The good positioning of the rival goalkeeper and the strong defence prevented the home side from taking a 1-0 lead.
Whilst the locals were being the superior side, Pellicer’s men lost one of their most effective attacking players. The referee, following a VAR check, gave Blue and White winger, Yanis Rahmani a direct red card (35’). Despite being a man down, the Blue and Whites didn’t stop in their efforts to get on the scoreboard, although without success. At half-time the score remained at 0-0.
In the second half, both teams fought to control the pace of play, with possession divided in the wide area. Málaga managed their numerical inferiority well, not allowing the rival any approaches to the area. An accurate header from Ander Vitoria for the visitors in 82’ sent the ball into Dani Barrio’s goal, but the offside position of the attacker meant the goal was disallowed. Again, the action was reviewed by VAR, which endorsed the referee’s decision.
Cristian came close to scoring the 1-0 in the closing stages, but the number ‘7’ wasn’t lucky in front of goal in the 85th minute. At the full-time whistle, the scoreboard showed 0-0, with both teams sharing the points in the final match of 2020.
