Real Sociedad kicked off with a more determined performance, starting with an early goal chance. Five minutes into play, Carlos Vela took advantage of a promising pass from Jose Ángel on the left wing to gain possession in the penalty area and open the scoring just 10 minutes after kick off. Bernd Schuster’s men hadn’t got off to the best start, which was now reflected on the score board.
Málaga began to find their feet after the first quarter of an hour, with Iakovenko having the first shot at goal, but he sent the ball way off target. The locals had another two chances to outwit the rival defence, which led to a possible foul on Iakovenko, but the referee didn’t take any action.
After 32 minutes, the Blue and Whites had the best out of three chances up to now to level up the score board before half-time. It was Iakovenko in front of the penalty area, but Bravo prevented an equaliser. Darder also came close to a goal, but the rival keeper ensured his team maintained the lead.
A much stronger, more determined Málaga came on to the pitch in the second half. It was Amrabat who tried his luck with an early goal from the right of the goal area, but he curled the ball too far off target.
The Blue and Whites tried everything possible to get on the score board, and despite taking the initiative during the second half, the score remained the same. Half way into this half, Schuster’s men had the best opportunity of the match so far. Amrabat passed an excellent ball to Roque, who had just joined the match, who then headed the ball towards the net. However another impressive Bravo save stopped any chance of an equaliser. Only a minute later, a good combinative display between Amrabat and Santa Cruz resulted in a powerful shot at goal from the Paraguayan striker, but again was no match for the rival keeper. These were Málaga’s best moments of the game.
The match ended in a 0-1 defeat for Málaga CF at La Rosaleda, but the Blue and Whites are hoping to achieve a positive result in their next match in Almería.
Match stats
MÁLAGA CF: Willy, Angeleri, Flavio, Camacho, Antunes, Sergi Darder, Tissone, Portillo (Duda, min. 46), Iakovenko (Samuel, min. 61), Amrabat and El Hamdaoui (Santa Cruz, min. 70).
REAL SOCIEDAD: Bravo, Bergara, Íñigo, Griezmann, Seferovic (X. Prieto, min. 63) Carlos Vela, Pardo (Elustondo, min. 79), Ansotegi, Canales (Zurutuza, min. 63) José Ángel and Zaldua.
GOAL:
0-1: Carlos Vela (min. 10).
REFEREE: Del Cerro Grande, from Madrid. Yellow cards were shown to Antunes (min. 38), Flavio (min. 89) and Duda (min. 92).
INFORMATION: 24th League match of the season, held at La Rosaleda stadium in front of 16,410 fans.