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Muñiz gives instructions to his players during a water break in the second half.
Malaga's preseason gets off to a bad start

Malaga's preseason gets off to a bad start

English Championship side Nottingham Forest ran out 3-0 winners in Malaga's first friendly of the summer on Monday morning

Antonio Góngora

Friday, 20 July 2018, 17:19

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It wasn't a day to remember for Juan Ramón Muñiz, as his third spell in charge of Malaga got under way with a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the Marbella Football Center on Monday morning.

The Blue and Whites looked far from the finished product, with both elevens which competed unable to cope with Aitor Karanka's side who were well organised and showed superior fitness.

New signing Badr Boulahroud was not in the matchday squad and Muñiz started with three academy players: Juan Cruz and Jack Harper up top, with Abqar slotting into central defence alongside Ignasi Miquel in a 4-4-2 formation.

Most interestingly, perhaps, Mehdi Lacen was named captain, despite both José Recio and Roberto Rosales (both captains last year) also starting.

Despite the abundance of leaders on the field, Forest took the in the 34th minute when winger Gil Dias finished off a mazy solo run.

It soon could have been two but Abqar was sharp to clear off the line.

More friendlies on home soil to come

  • Monday's match against Nottingham Forest is the first of what could be a total of up to ten preseason friendlies this summer as the Blue and Whites undertake preseason preparations on home soil.

  • The next will take place on Saturday, with a behind closed doors friendly against Extremadura in Coín.

  • After that, the squad will take part in a training camp in Estepona from Monday 23 July until Tuesday 31. During that time, a further three games are expected to take place, all at the Marbella Football Center and against opponents from other first or second division European teams currently training in the south of Spain.

  • Following the camp, Malaga play in Antequera against the local team on Saturday 4 August, before taking on Real Mallorca on Wednesday 8 August in the Marbella Municipal Stadium.

  • The final preseason game will be at La Rosaleda in Malaga for the annual Costa del Sol Trophy game on Saturday 11 August.

Malaga's second side to line up in this game, also with three academy players involved (keeper Kellyan and forwards Deco and Joan Grasa) fared no better. Ben Osborn doubled the visitors' lead in the 63rd minute before Liam Bridcutt made it three when he took advantage of a defensive mix-up just a minute later.

Despite the defeat, defender Juankar, who made his return after a serious knee injury ruled him out of the majority of last season, said: "We're calm. There's a lot of preseason left for us to cut out the errors."

Monday's game was the culmination of a lot of hard work, he said: "It has been a very tough week on the training field. He [Muñiz] has been demanding everything from us but we're not complaining."

The young players also caught his eye but he insists that we mustn't get too carried away by their performances: "They played very well and they have a lot of desire but it's too early to be assessing their level after just a week."

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