It is well known that justice in football is relative, but if you had to choose one word to sum up Málaga’s result at the Sánchez Pizjuán it would be: unfair.
The first half performance by the ‘Malaguistas’ against Sevilla was textbook, disabling the locals’ gameplay and generating the best chances to score.
In minute 11, Camacho, Charles and Cop created the first opportunity to take the lead, which ended with a long shot from Amrabat. Despite the subsequent stream of Blue and Whites’ approaches from Recio, Weligton and Rosales there was no way of predicting the remainder of the first half.
Football knows no merits, and within two minutes everything had changed for the ‘Malaguistas’. Sevilla’s Gameiro scored in minute 39, and again in minute 41 following a clear foul on Boka at the start of the play, and anyone who hadn’t seen the first half would never believe Málaga had been the superior side.
The Blue and Whites didn’t lose face and got off to a very dignified start in the second half. Málaga deserved better luck, and none other than goal-scorer Charles put the excitement back into the rest of the game. A free kick headed by Weligton assisted his Brazilian compatriot to score his eighth LaLiga goal.
Following the goal, the ‘Malaguistas’ began to approach the rival more in their half of the field, to which Sevilla FC responded by hardening their gameplay. So much so that Iburra was sent off in minute 82 with a double yellow card after a hard tackle on Camacho.
Gracia’s men went on the attack in the final stage of the game, and despite Boka being sent off in the 90th minute and the player numbers again being equal, Málaga had another promising chance to even up the scoreboard but couldn’t overcome the local defence a second time.
It was an unfair result that halts Málaga’s undefeated streak, with the Blue and Whites reaching seven consecutive LaLiga games without a loss.
