The first official match of the new year for Víctor Sánchez del Amo’s men, with the starting-11 including Ramón. The first starting line-up with MCF for the juvenil midfielder. The team got off to a good start, with ball possession and territorial dominance. Sadiku, in 9’, sent a shot over the crossbar. Antoñín and Pacheco generated danger on the left wing, although Oviedo maintained a strong defence.
The goal arrived from the locals’ first opportunity. Sangalli, after a good drive, surpassed Munir to send the ball to the back of the net (1-0, 26’). The home side took the lead against a Málaga that noticed the blow. Ortuño could even have increased their advantage. Diego González was shown the yellow card, the fifth this season, which carries federative suspension.
Málaga kept insisting in the final minutes of the first half, but luck wasn’t on their side and after 45 minutes the scoreboard still showed 1-0.
In the second half, a shot from Keidi forced Champagne to intervene in 47’. A good start from the Malaguistas who scored thanks to Mikel in 56’. However, the action was disallowed by VAR as the Venezuelan was offside. Hicham for Ramón (60’) was VSDA’s first substitution. Five minutes later, VAR returned to the spotlight, this time the outcome was good. A penalty for an Oviedo hand ball led to a penalty coolly converted by Sadiku (1-1, 67’). The eighth goal of the season for Málaga’s ‘pichichi’
Armando Sadiku, of course, nearly scored a second goal with a good turn and a shot that sailed over the crossbar. Juanpi came on in place of Renato Santos in 80’, in the closing stages with alternatives. Oviedo had a couple of chances, with Bárcenas and Obeng taking centre stage around the 90th minute. In stoppage time, of seven minutes, there was another controversial action in the local area. A powerful shot by Antoñín and clearance from a local defender looked as though there was a hand ball, although the referee didn’t award a penalty in 95’.
With the 1-1 final score, Málaga CF claim the first point of the second round of LaLiga SmartBank, to total 23 points and 16th place in the standings.
