Friday, May 18th, 2012
The late kick-off on Sunday night threw together another Andalucían derby, after Granada’s win at Real Betis this morning.
Málaga were at home against Sevilla. It was a game that surely something had to give, in Málaga’s last six outings they hadn’t recorded a single win, drawing two and losing four, scoring just five and conceding twelve. Sevilla were no better in their last five games, two draws and two defeats, scoring four and conceding ten. Surely this one had a score draw written all over it.
As soon as the whistle was blown, Málaga started like a house on fire, whatever Manuel Pellegrini had said to his side, well it worked. Within seven minutes they were 1-0 up courtesy of an in swinging free-kick from Santi Cazorla which was met in the six yard box by an unmarked Weligton who nodded it home. In the following eight minutes Málaga had battered and bruised Sevilla, in such a bad way that if it was a boxing match it would have been stopped.
Then, in the fifteenth minute, Sevilla were level thanks to a slip up in the home defence and fantastic awareness from Luna, who made it 1-1 after latching on to the mistake and putting the ball easily past the Sevilla stopper, Willy Caballero.
The sides were level for just under four minutes as the team who were on top Málaga restored their deserved lead when Cazorla found Salomón Rondón who ran down the left flank crossed it into the box and found the oncoming Seba Fernández who somehow managed to scrabble it over the line, it also had a hint of offside in it leading up to the goal, one the officials didn’t spot. Not the best finish La Liga has ever seen, yet a very vital one.
The rest of the half was pretty much the same, Málaga on top but with the pace of the game calmed down a little we went into the break with Málaga 2-1 up, deservedly so.
The second half had little to no goal threats or many talking points, couple of half chances for each side and it looked like it was going to end the way the first half ended. That was until a straight red card for young Isco whose late challenge on Álvaro Negredo looked a real nasty one, shin high and one that could possibly have broken the lef of the Sevilla striker. Up until that point the young attacking midfielder had a good game.
Sevilla did have the ball in the back of the net, yet it was disallowed for offside, it was deja-vu from the first half and Rondón’s offside leading up to the second Málaga goal, inches in both the chances. Yet Sevilla’s didn’t stand but the hosts’ did.
I’m never one to say that the official’s had any part in the match, but with thirty-four stoppages for free-kicks, eleven or so yellow cards, one red and a dubious call for the second Málaga goal as well as the second Sevilla ‘goal’, it’s hard not to say he had a little bit to play.
Though as it was, in the end it finished 2-1 to Málaga in the Andalucían derby, Pellegrini’s men moving up to seventh just three points of Levante in fourth and Sevilla drop to eleventh just six points from the drop zone.
FT: Málaga 2 (Weligton 8′, Fernandez 19′) – Sevilla 1 (Luna 15′).
You can follow Gary via Twitter here, he also contributes to our friends at French Football Weekly as well as Lovely Left Foot.
Tags: Cazorla, Isco, La Liga, Malaga, Negredo, Pellegrini, Rondon, Sevilla
