A hot afternoon with around 500 spectators at the main pitch of the Marbella Football Center. On the field, Pellicer lined up with a starting-11 consisting of Carlos López ©; C. Puga, Pastor, Murillo, Víctor; Izan M., Juanpe; Joaquín, Aaron Ochoa, Lobete; and Chupe.
In the 3rd minute, Málaga had their first clear chance: a precise pass from Ochoa found Chupe, who struck a shot across goal that narrowly missed the right post of the Qatari net. The Malaguista side dominated the opening 15 minutes of the match, with Joaquín particularly active down the right wing.
Before the midway point of the first half, in the 22nd minute, a combination between Joaquín and Puga ended with a shot from the Granada-born full-back, which was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. Al-Wakrah, focused on defending and showing some roughness in their play, took their first timid shot on goal in the 35th minute. At half-time, the score remained 0-0.
At the restart, Pellicer made nine changes, sending out a line-up of Carlos López; Gabilondo, Recio, Einar, Dani Sánchez; Izan M., Dotor; D. Larrubia, Rafa, Dani Lorenzo; and Niño. Carlos and Izan were the only starters to remain in the line-up.
As in the first half, Málaga CF nearly scored early on, this time through Larrubia in the 48th minute. The tone of the match remained the same, although Vicente Moreno’s side showed competitive spirit that kept them in contention for a positive result, Málaga were generally the superior team.
Shortly before the final whistle, Adrián Niño had a chance to break the deadlock in the 89th minute, but couldn’t convert. The 0-0 scoreline held, and the team came away with a draw after two wins earlier in this preseason.