The first official match of 2017 at La Rosaleda saw homegrown player, Luis as the main new addition to the Málaga line-up, debuting at home with the first team. In minute 3’, when the crowd chanted for Weligton, Sandro had a shot at the target from the left, and team captain, Duda, who returned to the starting-11, missed out on a goal from the near post. In minute 12’, Real Sociedad sent out the first warning, with a venomous shot by Willian José in front of the area.
In the 20th minute, Malaguista ‘pichichi’, Sandro sustained injury in an attacking action, and was substituted by Peñaranda, who made his official debut with MCF. Real managed the ball with quality midway through the first half, whilst Marcelo Romero’s men generated danger in spaces on the counter-attack in rapid transitions.
The talented Zurutuza stood out for the visitors, along with former Malaguista, Juanmi, who was very active with his constant mobility. Despite sporadic attempts by the Blue and Whites, the scoreboard remained unchanged at half-time, 0-0.
The second half kicked off with a goal from Iñigo Martínez for the visitors, as he converted a free kick with the help of a deflection off the wall (0-1, 49’). Málaga tried to react, but Real soon scored a second goal. This time it was Juanmi following a corner kick who found the net from the far post (0-2, 61’).
Ontiveros substituted Duda in minute 64’ to give more depth and verticality to the right profile of the attack. The Santos-Peñaranda duo fought to overcome the Real defence, and the final change to reinforce the attack saw the entrance of Juanpi in place of Pablo in minute 76’.
In the final stage of play, the Malaguistas gave their all but lacked accuracy against a solid rival, who claimed the points from Martiricos with solvency. As such, Málaga CF remains in the calm part of the table (13th) with 21 points.
