Sergio Pellicer opted for a system of three central defenders and two fullbacks, featuring the debut of one of the latest signings, Alberto Escassi. The Blue and White line-up consisted of Gonzalo; Quintana, Escassi, Juande; Ismael, Ramón, Benkhemassa, Ale Benítez; Tete Morente, David Larrubia and Hoyos.
The first third of the match was pretty even, although the defence prevailed over the attacks every time. Before half an hour of play was up, Tete Morente had the best opportunity to take the lead in a one-on-one, but didn’t manage to beat former Malaguista, Aarón.
Granada, meanwhile, generated two chances from a set piece. Soldado, in 34’, sent the ball to the side of the net on the exit of a corner. Then Tete, in his own goal, after a lateral free kick forced a superb stretch from Gonzalo to prevent a goal. At half-time, the scoreboard remained 0-0.
As usual during preseason training, there was a carousel of changes to the line-up in the second half. Pellicer changed the system, with just Ismael remaining in defence and Tete on the attack. Iván Calero made his debut on the right wing, with the line-up made up of: Munir; Calero, Luis Hernández, Lombán, Ismael; José Rodríguez, Rolón, Adrián; Hicham, Tete and Julio.
Málaga began to gain ground in the second half as the Granada players started to notice fatigue. Midway through the second half, the Red and White coach made several changes to refresh the team. For the Malaguistas, Iván Jaime joined the match in place of a tired Tete Morente (65’)
In the closing stages Granada advanced against a compact and always well-positioned Málaga. Former MCF player Antoñín and Antonio Puertas were incisive and tried to push through the solid Blue and White defence. Issa Fomba, in substitution of Hicham was Pellicer’s final change in minute 80. Just before the final whistle, Adrián left the pitch after receiving a hard tackle, with homegrown player Mini joining the match and taking over as captain.
This demanding preseason duel ended in a 0-0 draw, the third friendly for MCF and the first draw, following a victory against Valladolid (1-0) and defeat by Cádiz (1-2) previously.
