Great victory in Ipurua (2-4)

Málaga Club de Fútbol and Sociedad Deportiva Eibar faced off on matchday 38 of LaLiga Hypermotion at Ipurua. Hundreds of Malaguistas travelled with the team, creating a great atmosphere at the Basque ground. On the pitch, Funes fielded the following starting-11: Alfonso Herrero; C. Puga, Murillo, Einar, Rafita; Rafa R., Izan M., Dotor; Joaquín, D. Larrubia, and Chupe.

The match began with Málaga CF taking the initiative. Dotor tried to open the scoring from distance, but his effort was deflected. From the resulting corner, Olaetxea struck Murillo in the face with his arm. After a VAR review, the referee awarded a penalty to the visitors. Chupe stepped up and scored his 19^th league goal (0-1, 8’).

The home side managed to equalise in the 20^th minute. Sergio Álvarez capitalised on a loose ball in the box following a set-piece move to make it 1-1 at Ipurua.

In minute 32, SD Eibar struck again. Corpas scored after a rebound fell near the Málaga defence line (2-1).

After the two home goals, Málaga CF pushed for an equaliser before halftime. Larrubia had several attempts from the edge of the box that went off target, and he also tested Magunagoitia after a great dribble past Arbilla. At the break, it was 2-1.

After the break, Ramón came on to replace Izan M., marking his 100th appearance for Málaga CF. Shortly after, in the 52^nd minute, Málaga had a double chance. Joaquín produced a great individual move inside the box, but his shot was saved by the local keeper. From the rebound, Larrubia found Chupe, whose effort went over the crossbar.

In minute 60, Alfonso made a superb save, and on the counterattack, Larrubia hit the woodwork. Following that, there was a double substitution: Haitam and Niño came on for Larrubia and Rafa.

With the substitutions, Niño made it 2–2. Ramón picked out Chupe with a long pass, and from the right flank, he looked up and delivered a superb cross for the ‘21’ to finish (2-2, 65’). Five minutes later, Darko replaced Chupe, completing Funes’ fourth substitution of the match.

And it was the experienced Serbian midfielder who made it 2-3 in the 78^th minute. Funes’ final substitution was bringing on Aaron Ochoa for Joaquín. Málaga, full of momentum, sealed the win with a brace from Adrián Niño (2-4, 84’).

The final whistle secured a vital +3 points for Málaga CF in their push to return to the promotion playoff spots. They move provisionally into 5^th place with 63 points, with four matches remaining in the LALIGA HYPERMOTION regular season. Vamos, Málaga!