Málaga CF faced CF Talavera at Estadio El Prado in the second round of the Copa del Rey. The home stadium was dressed to impress for the league clash, with 4,075 fans filling the stands of the Talavera venue.
Juanfran Funes selected the following starting-11: Carlos López; Gabilondo, Murillo, Montero, Dani Sánchez; Arriaza, Rafa R., Aaron Ochoa; Haitam, Lobete, and Chupe. The main highlight was the official debut of Pablo Arriaza, the first homegrown player to make his debut under the Malaguista coach.
The Malaguistas, today wearing their orange third kit, started with energy and enjoyed the first chance of the match. In the 5th minute, Haitam found Chupe inside the box, but the number ‘9’’s shot was cleared near the goal line. Gabilondo followed up on the rebound from the edge of the area, but the home goalkeeper caught the ball. Shortly after (16’), the right-back himself tried a long-range shot, and his very dangerous attempt was deflected for a corner by Jaime González.
Around the half-hour mark, Murillo played a long ball to Rafa R., who controlled it with his chest and looked to goal from distance. The ball went slightly wide. In the 36th minute, the clearest chance of the match arrived. Haitam finished a cross from Dani Sánchez inside the box that grazed Aaron Ochoa. The winger’s right footer was deflected by Jaime González for a corner.
The match reached half-time with the score at 0-0. After the break, Funes made a double substitution. Jauregi and Rafita replaced Haitam and Aaron Ochoa. The Málaga ‘31’, recently renewed with Málaga CF, had the first chance of the second half. Coming in from the right wing, he took advantage of a cross from the left to trouble the home goalkeeper.
CF Talavera took the lead in the 55th minute. After a cross from the side, the defence cleared the ball, but Sergio Montero connected with a volley to make it 1-0. Ten minutes later, the same player scored again to make it 2-0 following an unlucky play in which the ball remained in the small area.
Funes made further changes to the line-up. D. Larrubia, Niño (67’), and later Ibon Badiola (70’), making his official debut with Málaga CF, came on to replace Chupe, Lobete, and Rafa R.
Málaga CF tried to reduce the deficit, but without success until the 89th minute. Niño scored to narrow the gap following a cross from debutant Ibon Badiola. However, the match ended 2-1, confirming Málaga’s elimination from the Copa del Rey.