On this special day for Andalucía, a minute’s silence was held before kick-off in memory of Spanish footballing legend, Quini, who passed away yesterday. On the pitch, fast and wet from the rain, were various changes to José González’s starting-11, with the return of Miquel in defence, the entrance of Lacen in midfield and Success and Rolan on the attack.
After the initial back and forth of the opening stages, the first shot at goal was from Sevilla’s Layín (13’), which found a good response from Roberto. The second opportunity for Montella’s men was lethal, as Correa scored from a cross shot to give Sevilla the lead (0-1, 15’). Málaga, little by little, began to recompose themselves by gaining possession in the wide area.
In 27’, Success could have been the object of a penalty in Sevilla’s area. The Nigerian-born winger, during his home debut this season, was substituted in the 34th minute by En-Nesyri. Nolito, in 40’ had a promising opportunity that grazed the crossbar, and in the subsequent corner, the referee disallowed Ben Yedder’s goal. At half-time, Sevilla FC maintained a 0-1 lead.
In the second half, MCF came out with momentum, highlighting the activity of Rolan and Chory on the wings, both on a different foot, and En-Nesyri pairing up with Ideye upfront. Diego Rolan, in 58’, forced a good clearance from Rico following a toxic shot; Ideye, at the same time, tried his luck with a header that narrowly missed the target. In minute 70, Diego González made an attempt from a long shot, following a Chory free kick.
Málaga kept insisting with dedication and courage against a well-equipped Sevilla in their half awaiting a counter-attack. The Blue and Whites provoked various corners, but without a successful finish. Bueno, in 76’, replaced Ideye. The last Malaguista substitution saw Samuel join the match in place of Diego González (83’), to step up the attack. In stoppage time, Roberto prevented the second Sevilla goal in a one-on-one with ‘Mudo’ Vázquez.
A narrow defeat for Málaga CF which keeps them in 20th place in LaLiga Santander with 13 points, seven points away from permanency in the gold category of Spanish football.
