A high intensity LaLiga 1|2|3 derby. Málaga CF and Granada CF were in action at Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes, the second and fourth placed teams of the category coming face to face. Málaga repeated the attacking pairing on the wings (Alejo and Ontiveros) and strengthened midfield with Keidi Bare in substitution of injured Erik Morán. Upfront, Blanco Leschuk stood out. In defence, Pau Torres was back in place of Diego González, who was suspended from this game due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
The locals kicked off with great presence in the attacking half, the fruit of which was the first goal of the game. A cross from Puertas, at the far post, slammed into the back of the net. 1-0 (Min 4). Málaga CF now had to battle against the tide. A minute later, Juan Ramón López Muñiz’s men made a dangerous approach to Granada’s area, however the shot from Ontiveros didn’t find the net. The visitors piled on the pressure after the home side opened the scoring and generated a promising goal opportunity to go level. Alejo made a superb cross from the right of the Malaguista attack, but his shot didn’t connect with N’Diaye.
In the subsequent play, the Senegalese midfielder was shown the first yellow card of the game for bringing down Germán. In 27’, Málaga CF made another dangerous approach to Granada’s area. Blanco Leschuk was brought down at the edge of the area when he was about to tackle a rival. Fede San Emeterio was booked for the foul, as was Luis Hernández for protesting. The free kick, propelled by Ontiveros, collided with the bar and was deflected to a corner. Montoro was also shown the yellow card for a foul on Alejo whilst he was leading a good counter attack. Another yellow card was shown, on this occasion to Alejo for bringing down Martínez. Immediately afterwards, Quini was booked for a foul on Alejo. The Blue and Whites had a last chance to equalise before half-time, an Alejo cross that N’Diaye didn’t manage to connect with. The first half ended 1-0.
The second half got underway with two substitutions for the visitors. Alejo and Keidi were replaced by Seleznov and Mula. Two minutes into the second half, N’Diaye was sent off with two yellow cards, an extremely harsh decision, due to a foul in midfield. The start of this half advanced without any real danger in either goal area. Cifu came on in place of Iván Rodríguez (58’). Seleznov was close to a leveller, but his header from a Mula shot went to the left of Rui Silva’s goal. In 69’ Cifu made a great run, however his shot was deflected to a corner by the Granada keeper. With 80 minutes gone, Seleznov tried his luck following a Blanco Leschuk pass, and soon after, a shot from Ontiveros went out. Málaga ended the match in the rival area but didn’t find the fortune of goal.