There was a party atmosphere at the Martiricos ground, including a huge blue and white mosaic which adorned the stadium before kick-off. A minute’s silence was held in memory of José Luis Monreal. Málaga were well-positioned on the pitch at the start, with and without the ball, against Madrid whose principal danger came from ex-Malaguista, Isco. Torres, after cutting off a rival counter-attack, was shown his fifth yellow card in LaLiga and will be suspended from the match at Anoeta.
After the first 15 minutes of back and forth play between both sides, the clearest chances to score came. For the visitors, Jesé found himself head to head with Kameni, but the ball went wide on the right; Juanpi was unmarked in front of Keylor, but his shot wasn’t powerful enough to make the target; Horta with a left-footer nearly broke the netting on the goal area; and again Jesé came up against an impressive Kameni mid-way through the first half.
Then came Cristiano Ronaldo who, from an offside position, put the visitors in front with a strong header into the back of the net (0-1, 33’). Two minutes later, Weligton provoked a penalty on Ronaldo, however the Portuguese striker missed thanks to a mighty save by Kameni. Cop, in minute 38’ came close to an equaliser, but Navas’ reflexes put paid to local hopes. Málaga didn’t lose face at any point during play, and at half-time the Madridistas were a goal up.
In the second half, Zidane’s men looked to gain more control of the game by dominating ball possession, with both Kroos and Modric as benchmarks. However, Málaga stayed strong, and in minute 49’ it was Horta’s turn to test Keylor’s reflexes with a promising shot. A hard-working and tireless, as always, Camacho was shown the yellow card (55’) meaning he’ll miss out on the next League match.
Gracia brought on Pablo (63’), who made his LaLiga debut against Madrid at the Bernabéu, to replace Ricardo Horta. In his first action, the player from Castellón made his mark on La Rosaleda with two twists and a dangerous shot at goal that was a warning of what was to come. The eternal Weligton, from the left wing, passed a golden ball to his teammate in central defence, Albentosa, who launched the ball into Keylor’s area to the delight of the fans (1-1, 66’).
In the final stage of play, James substituted Isco (75’), who left the pitch to rapturous applause. A subsequent header from Charles was miraculously diverted to a corner by Keylor. Roque replaced Cop in minute 81’, after he gave his all yet again, to refresh the Blue and Whites’ attack. Another veteran, Duda came on in place of Juanpi on the right of the attack just before the 90th minute. Madrid, with more heart than football, looked to unbalance the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Another incredible point against Real Madrid, the second of the season, following a new tactical performance by Gracia and his team.
