Within the starting-11, Míchel included Cifu, Kuzmanovic, Jony and Diego Rolan, in respect of the previous match against Atlético de Madrid. The game kicked off with arrivals from both sides. In minute 6, the referee disallowed a goal by Valencia’s Zaza for being offside. Five minutes later, Parejo launched a dangerous free kick over the goal defended by Roberto. In the 16th minute of play, the first goal of the game arrived. A pass from Soler led to a close-range shot into the back of the net from Santi Mina (1-0). Rolan came close to a leveller a minute later with a superb header from a Cifu pass. Neto sent the ball to a corner after a great dive. Roberto prevented a second Valencia goal in the 28th minute, with a spectacular save from Zaza’s shot on the goal line. Within five minutes, it was Jony who came close to an equaliser. A pass from Mula on the right wing was followed by a high shot by the Malaguista left-winger. Málaga tried from the right. Good clearance from Mula who connected a dry shot from a Recio cross. Neto was again decisive with a solid save. Míchel’s team pushed until the final seconds of the first half. Jony developed strong play from the left wing, with a measured pass and a shot from Mula that went out.
The second half got underway without any changes for either side. Zaza scored the second goal for the ‘Ché’ outfit (54’), with a cross shot, again following a pass from Soler. Cifu and Rolan continued their search for goals, and the Uruguayan striker narrowly missed out on glory as his right-footer went high. In the 60th minute of the match, Valencia scored a third goal. A pass from Montoya and a shot at the target from Zaza which Roberto was unable to do anything about. Míchel made some changes in order to seek a reaction. Juanpi and Ontiveros came on the pitch in place of Rolón and Mula. In minute 62, Zaza scored Valencia’s fourth goal. Marcelino brought on Andreas Pereira for Kondogbia (65') and Rodrigo in place of Zaza (66'). Míchel substituted Diego González for Baysse (69’), and Marcelino used his last change by introducing Maksimovic for Parejo. Málaga kept trying in the final stretch of the game, but were unable to score. Rodrigo got goal number five in minute 85 (5-0).
