It was a day of debuts on the pitch today, with José Rodríguez included in the starting line-up, along with Josemi and Weligton as the new team delegate and assistant coach to the first team, respectively. Also returning to the Malaguista line-up were Torres, Keko and Charles. It was precisely the Spanish-Brazilian striker who celebrated his return to the starting-11 with a superb goal. A cross from Rosales on the right (the right-back’s 100th match with MCF) led to an unstoppable header from Charles (0-1, 14’).
Villarreal sought a reaction with their usual combinative style of play, entering from both sides, with former Malaguista, Adrián López doing damage between the lines. In minute 28, Manu Trigueros forced Kameni to make an excellent intervention from a dry shot in front of the area; an action he repeated in minute 33 with a disallowed goal for Adrián being offside.
In the final stretch of the first half, the resilience and quality of José Rodríguez was evident, packing a punch in midfield in the face of the demanding, talented local midfielders. At half-time, MCF had a 0-1 lead.
The first minutes of the second half were dominated by Villarreal, whilst Málaga held up well in defence. However, in barely five minutes, the fate of the match changed completely, with two actions leaving Málaga CF wronged on both counts. In 55’, Charles was brought down inside the area in a penalty-worthy action that wasn’t signalled by the referee; and in the opposite area, an unjust penalty was awarded for a supposed foul by Rosales on Sansone. Bruno scored from the penalty spot to level up the scoreboard (1-1, 62’).
Jony came on in substitution of Keko, and in minute 67 the player from Asturias had a promising opportunity with a powerful shot from the right profile of the attack. In 72’, Bikandi Garrido gave Soriano a direct red card following a rough tackle on Camacho. Again, Jony tested the reflexes of Asenjo in 74’, when Duda joined the match in place of a remarkable José Rodríguez. Ontiveros, in minute 82, was the third and final change made by Romero, in substitution of Chory Castro.
Málaga continued in their quest for a goal on the right, with a highly active Jony. However, Villarreal also came close to taking the lead thanks to a mighty chance for ex-Malaguista, Samu Castillejo that was deflected by Kameni in minute 90. The points are shared between both teams, with this draw keeping MCF in 14th place in the rankings with 23 points.
