There was an excellent atmosphere in the stands for the home debut of Víctor Sánchez del Amo at the helm of the team. The Madrid-born coach didn’t alter the starting line-up that secured last week’s 1-4 win in Alcorcón. From the outset Málaga owned possession with a clear attacking display, whilst Mallorca remained in their own half. A hyperactive Ontiveros came close to provoking a penalty in 7’, falling inside the area after a brilliant personal action.
In the 13th minute, Mallorca created their first opportunity with a header from Budimir that was deflected by Munir. In 20’ and 23’, the Blue and White ‘pichichis’ appeared, Blanco Leschuk and Adrián, with shots at the target defended by former Malaguista, Manolo Reina. From a set piece, Lombán, with a header, tried his luck following a Renato free kick. Adrián, in 30’ propelled the ball to the edge of the area, forcing Reina to intervene.
In the final minutes of the first half the visitors stretched out their lines, driven by the quality in midfield by veteran player, Salva Sevilla. In 40’, Dani Rodríguez fired a low shot towards a Munir who was ready to deflect. In the same minute, Leschuk responded with a powerful shot that he skied over the crossbar. After 45 minutes, the scoreboard still showed 0-0.
In the second half, the script of the beginning of play was repeated, with a pro-active Málaga CF with the ball against a competent RCD Mallorca on the whole. Team captain, Ricca, suffering with physical discomfort, abandoned play in 57’, making way for Diego González. Ontiveros narrowly missed out on an opener with a classic shot at goal that went over the bar (61’).
The match progressed and Víctor introduced another substitution in 73’, bringing on Iván Alejo for Renato on the right wing. Two minutes later, Reina made a great intervention following another stunner from Adrián. However, it was Mallorca who opened the scoring. A left-footer from Leo Suárez inside the area surpassed Munir (0-1, 86’). Seleznov, before the 90th minute, came on in place of Keidi, but there was no more time to seek out an equaliser.
As such, Málaga CF suffers defeat and remains in 6th place in the standings with 58 points in the play-off positions for promotion to LaLiga Santander.
