The start of the match – unprecedented in the First Division – saw a very serious, compact Leganés, going out with determination and creating a clear chance after three minutes. A shot from Víctor Díaz led to an impressive save by Kameni, following a previous clearance from the Cameroonian keeper. There were some changes to Málaga’s starting-11, with Koné, Kuzmanovic and Jony all appearing in the line-up.
MCF’s first shot at goal, in minute 16, came after a strong Jony free kick. A minute later, a Sandro cross grazed Serantes’ left post. In the 19th minute, a stunner from Jony came close to setting up a header for Sandro; however, it was Luciano with a header for the visitors, who only just missed out on a goal in minute 20 thanks to Kameni.
Juande’s men went all out in the final stage of the first half, with Kuzmanovic dominating the wide area with his fine technique, and Jony being a force to be reckoned with on the wing. It was precisely the Asturian winger who opened the scoring. A foul committed on Pablo led to Jony converting a suspenseful penalty (1-0, 39’). Just before half-time, the crowd were ecstatic as goal number two arrived. A lethal counter attack on the left started with Rosales, was continued by Sandro, and netted by Chory from a tight angle (2-0, 42’).
The home side narrowly missed out on a third goal soon after the second half got underway. Sandro filtered an inside pass to Jony, who lost the one on one with Serantes (47’). Szymanowski, in minute 50, responded with a good opportunity to get on the scoreboard, but the ball came close to the left post. In minute 54, Kuzmanovic came off the pitch to a standing ovation (suffering with discomfort to the Achilles tendon in his right foot), and was replaced by Duda. The top scorer was about to make his move. A somewhat jumbled play in the penalty area, led to close-range success for Sandro, and his third League goal (3-0, 57’). The Canaries-born striker, straight away launched another left-footer at the target, but hit the post (58’).
Málaga, comfortable with their clear advantage on the scoreboard, continued to generate chances. An occasion for Juankar on the left side of the area (62’) narrowly missed out on glory. Leganés searched, without success, to get a goal, whilst the stands were revelling in the local lead, doing the wave, chanting the hymn, and singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to la Rosaleda.
In minute 76, Ricca came on in place of Juankar on the left, and his compatriot, Michael Santos, made his official debut with MCF, substituting Jony to rapturous applause (78’). In stoppage time, Camacho sealed the massive win with a fantastic header after an incredible assist from Duda (4-0, 92’). What a great way to celebrate Málaga CF’s third consecutive victory at La Rosaleda, which is even more special on its 75th birthday!
