Pellicer selected a starting-11 which featured the debuts of Dani Barrio in goal and Yanis Rahmani on the left wing. The line-up: Dani Barrio; Iván Calero, Luis Hernández, Quintana, Ismael; José Rodríguez, Ramón; T. Morente, D. Larrubia, Yanis; Hoyos.
Espanyol had the first great chance of the game, in minute 10, with a shot from Javi Puado that grazed the crossbar. Málaga reacted immediately with two good opportunities in 15’; the first a Tete header from a Yanis cross, and then a direct free kick that hit the crossbar, by José Rodríguez.
However, it was an effective Espanyol that opened the scoring with two quality actions. Embarba resolved a notable collective display from Espanyol (0-1, 20’) whilst Javi Puado emulated his teammate at the end of the first half, with good definition against Barrio (0-2, 30’).
Following the usual water break, there was a Malaguista change as Iván Jaime came on in place of Tete (35’). At half-time, the scoreboard showed 0-2.
In the second half, there were numerous changes in terms of names and the system for Sergio Pellicer’s squad. The line-up: Dani Barrio; Ismael, Luis Hernández, Escassi; Iván Calero, Rolón, Cristian (debut), Benítez; Iván Jaime, Issa Fomba and Orlando Sá.
The ‘Periquitos’, again with a show of effectiveness, scored another goal, the work of Wu Lei (0-3, 52’), which proved to be too much of a punishment for Málaga CF.
In 65’, Pellicer made another three substitutions: Juanpi, who wore the captain’s armband, and homegrown players Mini and Julio, in place of Luis Hernández, Iván Jaime and Issa Fomba. In the 80th minute, versatile juvenil defender, Murillo made his first team debut, in substitution of Iván Calero.
The match ended in a 0-3 win for Vicente Moreno’s team, who showed great precision in front of the rival goal, leading to Málaga CF’s second defeat of the preseason.
