Malaga secure well-deserved draw in Valencia

2016-12-07 07:00:00

Malaga produced a dominant second half performance to secure a deserved point at the Mestalla stadium, with Pablo levelling the scores in the 93rd minute.
Despite being inundated with injuries, with at least eight first team players out, Juande's side proved themselves to be ambitious and motivated with the result fully justified. Fielding a number of young players and those more accustomed to sitting on the bench, the side gelled well as a unit and were therefore able to overpower a team with arguably more talented footballers.
Although they were reliant upon a late equaliser, it was Malaga who struck first. The crowd at the Mestalla were silenced almost immediately after just two and a half minutes when a deflected shot from Ontiveros fell perfectly for Pablo to score a superb volley from just outside the box.
However, the delight of the away side did not last long, as Rodrigo drew things level just four minutes later. Parejo swung the ball in from a free-kick and the unmarked forward glanced a header into the far corner past a helpless Boyko.
Neither side stopped to take a breath in a frantic first half an hour. Valencia were not subtle in their desire to keep Malaga out, with five defenders against the solitary Santos. Their coach, Prandelli, once he realised that the dangerous forward was favouring the right hand side, even ordered the defensive duo of Abdennour and Siqueira to unite with Medrán in order to completely shut out Santos.
Munir came close to taking the lead for the hosts after he latched on to a cross from Cancelo, but Boyko saved well to his left. However, in the 34th minute, Parejo's cross was deflected across the Malaga box and Medrán reacted first to stroke the ball into the bottom corner from the penalty spot.
The second half served to demonstrate why Valencia are lying in 17th in the table. Malaga were able to create chance after chance, with Ontiveros a constant threat from the right hand side. The away side were dominant in all forms of the game, with 62% overall possession, but were unable to find their way past Diego Alves.
That all changed, however, in the final minute of the game, when Camacho's cross found substitute En-Nesyri, who cushioned the ball in the middle of the box to the sublime Pablo who struck the equaliser emphatically into the left corner.
Pablo's brace means Malaga are currently in 11th position in La Liga with 20 points. Valencia's woes continue as they remain out of the relegation zone solely on goal difference. source surinenglish