Málaga CF reached their second consecutive final in the Carranza Cup, after defeating Villarreal in the semi-final (1-0). For their part, UD Las Palmas came out on top against Cádiz CF, also with a minimal victory.
In the initial stages of play, UD Las Palmas showed great determination in their search of the Malaguista goal area. However, the Blue and Whites’ defensive line deactivated their attempts with solvency.
As time went on, Míchel’s men stepped up their attack and began to generate goal chances. En-Nesyri came up against goalkeeper, Chichizola in a one-on-one in minute 27; Mula chased the rebound but the wind sent the ball way over the crossbar. Just a minute later, again En-Nesyri had a similar opportunity, forcing the Yellows’ keeper to use everything he had to send the ball to a corner.
At that moment, Málaga shamelessly launched for the goal and handcuffed the Las Palmas defence; in the 32nd minute, Jony tried his best from the epicentre of the area, but found himself up against the rival keeper. Chory insisted with the rebound, but again the keeper put paid to his hopes. With barely any time to breathe, En-Nesyri headed a promising ball from the left, but again success didn’t follow.
As the Blue and Whites’ defence tightened up, Cifuentes brought down a rival inside the area, and the referee subsequently signalled a penalty. Boateng was accurate from the 11-metre mark, rendering useless the good stretch by Andrés (1-0, 38’).
At half-time, the scoreboard showed 1-0.
In the second half, both sides fought to impose themselves in midfield. The Blue and Whites, tonight wearing the orange jersey, and the Yellows, alternated approaches to both areas. In minute 65, Pedro Bigas converted a toxic shot from the left to increase his team’s lead (2-0).
This goal would mean the definitive result in the final of the LXIII edition of the Carranza Cup, with UD Las Palmas taking the title.
