Away from home for MCF against Real Sporting on matchday 40 of LaLiga SmartBank. The duel, held at the iconic Estadio El Molinón - Enrique Castro ‘Quini’, took place behind closed doors in Gijón due to the relevant safety protocol.

The match soon became an uphill struggle for the Blue and Whites – wearing pink this evening. Local player Unai Medina made the most of a deep ball behind the defence to put the home side in the lead in 3’ (1-0).

Málaga tried not to succumb to the blow of the early goal and went out in search of an equaliser. The visitors began to increase their presence in the attacking half, but didn’t manage to channel the danger in the Sporting goal.

In another rapid action, the Red and Whites increased their lead thanks to a goal from Álvaro Vázquez in minute 31. At half-time the scoreboard was 2-0 in favour of the locals.

In the second half, Málaga stepped on to the pitch focused on turning the situation around. Tete and Adrián came on in place of Juankar and Benkhemassa respectively, to alter Pellicer’s game plan. Hicham generated a promising opportunity in 51’. The winger tried his luck with a powerful shot from in front of the area, but the ball grazed the post. The Blue and Whites managed to bottle the rival in their own half.

In stoppage time, Keidi Bare managed to narrow the gap, converting a difficult ball inside the area, with the team’s physical wear and tired legs eventually bearing fruit (2-1, 93’). The Albanian scored at the stadium where he made his first team debut in the 18/19 season.

In the closing stages, the Malaguistas went out on the attack with courage and heart, but didn’t manage to go level, and at the referee’s final whistle, the score was 2-1.