Málaga Club de Fútbol and Asociación Deportiva Ceuta FC faced each other on matchday 40 of LALIGA HYPERMOTION at Ipurua. Hundreds of Málaga fans supported the team in a great atmosphere at the Ceuta ground. On the pitch, Funes lined up the following starting-11: Alfonso Herrero; C. Puga, Recio, Einar, Rafita; Rafa R., Izan M., Dani Lorenzo; Joaquín, D. Larrubia and Chupe.
The match started with a very dominant and effective Málaga CF. In the 4th minute, Joaquín beat the home goalkeeper one-on-one with a delicate touch. After a VAR review, the goal stood, making it 0-1.
Despite the goal, the Blue and Whites, wearing black today, kept pushing towards Vallejo’s goal. In the 13th minute, Málaga struck again. Rafa found Chupe inside the box, and he finished first-time to make it 0-2.
Funes’ team stuck to their plan and continued to control possession while looking to extend their lead further.
Marcos Fernández scored to make it 1-2, but the goal was disallowed for an offside position by the home striker (37’). Shortly after, five minutes later, Rafa recovered a superb ball and set up Chupe. The number 9 struck from outside the box to complete his brace (0-3, 42’), reaching 22 goals in LALIGA HYPERMOTION. The teams went into half-time with a 0-3 scoreline.
After the break, Ramón came on for Dani Lorenzo. In minute 52, an unfortunate play made it 1-3 on the Alfonso Murube scoreboard. A cross from the wing deflected off Einar and ended up in the Málaga net.
Montero and Aaron Ochoa came on to replace Recio and Rafa, and shortly after Lobete entered for Joaquín. The final substitution saw Darko come on for Larrubia.
The heat and fatigue on both sides contributed to a slower second half. Larrubia had the clearest chance for Málaga after a good pass from Lobete, but the goal eventually came from a steal by Aaron Ochoa, who then finished brilliantly to make it 1-4 (82’).
The final whistle confirmed a +3 for Málaga CF, who reach 69 points and move up to 4th place with two matches remaining in the regular season. Vamos, Málaga!