The Blue and Whites hosted the Red and Whites this Tuesday evening, on matchday 32 of LaLiga SmartBank. Málaga CF and UD Almería met up again after four months, the last time was on matchday 18 of the regular competition.
On the pitch, the locals kicked off with high-pressure gameplay, compromising the visitors’ solid defence. However, Pellicer’s men generated two promising chances in the first 10 minutes but didn’t manage to get a goal.
However, a punchy performance from UDA saw them open the scoring in minute 12 with a goal from Robertone (0-1). Trailing on the scoreboard, MCF didn’t give up in their efforts to go level and launched their attack to look for an equaliser.
In minute 24 of play, Juande collided with the foot of a rival player in the heart of the area. The referee considered a penalty was the right course of action, but VAR intervened and went against the ref’s decision. As such, the penalty was not allowed.
As soon as play resumed, Almería gained possession and managed to go 0-2 up with a surprising shot at the target (Lazo, 29’). After the goal, both sides matched one another in pace up until the half-time whistle.
Málaga came out in the second half with a renewed confidence and stepped on to the pitch determined to narrow the gap. After just 11 minutes they nearly did just that. A close-range attempt from Luis Muñoz narrowly missed out on glory due to the interception of a rival defender. His clearance was caught by Caye Quintana who did get the ball in the net, but the goal was declared offside.
The Blue and Whites maintained their intensity and speed with the ball but didn’t manage to get through the rival defence. Despite controlling possession and, in terms of sensations, the game looked closer to 1-2 than another result, Almería increased their lead. Sadiq converted a pass from Morales, making the most of a numerical advantage on the attack in 77’ (0-3).
Despite the emotional blow, MCF didn’t cede the ball to the rival for the remainder of play, with 0-3 the final result.
