Malaga CF cling on in storm-hit away day as early blunder nearly derails Funes' revival

A disastrous run of six away defeats finally came to an end for Malaga CF on Saturday evening with a 1-1 draw in Valladolid that followed a similar pattern to their new coach's debut a week earlier: another unconvincing display yet still emerging with a result.

Despite starting with the same lineup from the 3-2 win over Mirandés, Juan Francisco Funes' side struggled from the get-go. The opening minutes belonged entirely to Valladolid, and although they had gone almost 300 minutes without scoring in the league, they needed less than five minutes to find the breakthrough at José Zorrilla.

When Malaga goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero hesitated when receiving the ball under light pressure, Marcos André dispossessed him and squared to Peter Federico, who lifted a looping finish into an empty net from outside the box. The error came as Herrero approached his 100th official appearance for the club and the incident highlighted his dip in form compared with previous seasons.

In response, Malaga offered almost nothing before half time, with their only threatening moment coming from an attempt by Einar Galilea that inadvertently struck team-mate Adrián Niño.

Valladolid continued to find openings as Amath Ndiaye went close from distance and Carlos Puga risked conceding a penalty with a heavy shirt pull that went unpunished.

The second half began with further danger for Malaga as Stanko Juric forced a save with his feet from Herrero before Peter Federico and Carlos Dotor (in his own net) each threatened to double Valladolid’s lead.

Four chances arrived within seven minutes of the restart and Malaga again appeared slow and lacking precision despite Funes opting not to make immediate changes.

And yet, the visitors levelled with their first effort on target. After a great individual move by David Larrubia, Víctor García delivered an inch-perfect cross from the left and Niño guided a header past Guilherme in the 59th minute. It was Niño’s eighth goal of the season across league, pre-season and under-21 fixtures, and all have come with a first-time finish.

Valladolid pressed for a winner as Chuki struck the post with a near-post header from an Iván Alejo cross and Peter remained lively.

Funes made staggered substitutions that left Malaga with four changes used by the 77th minute as they retreated into a compact shape. Julen Lobete almost completed the turnaround with a late chance, but the visitors ultimately concentrated on preserving what Funes termed a "pragmatic" point.

In heavy rain and temperatures below six degrees, they delivered little attacking threat but achieved what the coach demanded: "When difficult moments came, we always stuck to the plan".