Málaga CF and Real Racing Club faced off this Saturday on matchday 25 of LaLiga Hypermotion at the Campos de Sport de El Sardinero in front of 21,872 spectators, including over 400 Malaguistas.
Sergio Pellicer set up the following starting-11: A. Herrero; Jokin, Pastor, Nelson, Víctor; Ramón, Manu Molina; Larrubia, Antoñito; Lobete, and Dioni.
The match started at a fast pace. A well-organised Málaga CF dominated in the early stages and quickly took the lead. Julen Lobete drove the ball in the 6th minute to the edge of the area and shot with great precision, sending the ball into the back of the net. The ball entered the top corner, making the goalkeeper's dive useless (0-1, 6’).
The home team responded with several incursions into the Málaga area and, eventually, levelled the score in the 15th minute. Arana equalised with a header from a corner kick (1-1, 15’).
The match became even more dynamic. Both teams created more chances and became even more vertical in their play. Julen Lobete scored again in the 23rd minute, but the referee ruled the goal out for offside. Just five minutes later, Arana replicated the play with a second goal from a corner (2-1, 28'). This was the score at half-time.
The second half started a bit slower, but it didn’t take long for the intensity to return. Julen Lobete scored once more in the 56th minute from a pass by Dioni, but the VAR determined that the tight call was offside and disallowed the goal.
Dioni came close to equalising in the 72nd minute. The striker controlled the ball in the area, found some space, and managed to shoot despite the pressure from the defence, but the ball went just over the crossbar.
In the final moments, the match became chaotic. Kevin managed to break free and find himself one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper after a great solo run, but the keeper anticipated his move and saved the chance. In the end, despite the efforts and fatigue of the Malaguistas, the score remained 2-1, and the three points stayed in Santander.