Juanpi wonder strike seals Malaga victory

Malaga call the shots

R. Sporting signalled their intentions early on, with the first clear chance of the game falling the way of Antonio Sanabria, but Memo Ochoa pulled off an excellent save to prevent the visitors from taking the lead. The opening stages saw both sides cancel each other out, but as the game wore on, Malaga CF began to dominate possession and carved out the clearest goalscoring opportunities. Sanabria's early chance proved to be the only real opening for Abelardo's side.

Juanpi's left-footed corker

The hosts' domination reaped its rewards when Juanpi struck the opener. The Venezuelan picked up the ball on the right-hand edge of the area before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed curler which nestled into the top corner of Ivan Cuellar's net. This was the forward's fourth goal of the campaign.

Memo Ochoa's Rosaleda bow

Last time out against RC Deportivo at Riazor, the Mexican goalkeeper played his first competitive minutes for Malaga and tonight's game saw him make his Rosaleda debut. For a first game in front of his own fans, Ochoa couldn't have hoped for a better performance. The Boquerones custodian made several fine saves to record a clean sheet.

 

Castro hits the post for luckless Sporting

Abelardo's men really wouldn't realistically have been expecting to come away from Malaga with the three points that would have brought their dismal run to an end, but in reality Sporting were never at the races and to make matters worse, lady luck failed to smile on them. With fifteen minutes remaining, Carlos Castro found himself six yards out with the goal at his mercy, but his effort struck the woodwork.

No let-up for Sporting as Malaga return to winning ways

This defeat means that the Asturians have now lost five on the trot and sit one off the bottom. As for Javi Gracia's men, they record a win after having gone five matchdays without claiming a victory.