Wasteful Malaga CF forced to settle for third home draw in a row

Malaga CF's chances of a second-place finish received yet another blow on Sunday afternoon as Sergio Pellicer's side dropped two points at home for the third game on the bounce.

A goalless draw at La Rosaleda against Real Murcia was perhaps not the outcome the hosts' attacking endeavour deserved. However, the visitors, who showed very little going forward, got exactly what they came for: a point against all odds thanks to a determined defensive display.

As you might expect, Malaga started the game on the front foot but nonetheless found Murcia hard to break down. Their first real chance came via Genaro's shot from long range which was held low by keeper Manu García.

Víctor García, who had delivered a number of dangerous balls from the left until that point, then forced the keeper into an excellent reaction save to put his free-kick out for a corner.

The game continued in the same vein after the break, until Pellicer lost patience and made a triple change with half an hour left to play, bringing on winger David Ferreiro, midfielder Ramón and forward Dioni.

This sparked an increase in intensity and Kevin was left calling for a penalty after a coming together in the area, but the referee gave only a goal kick.

Shortly after whistling an effort wide of the post, Ferreiro hit the crossbar with his second ambitious shot from outside the area.

But despite several threatening attacks and set-piece opportunities, the home team couldn't find the net.

After Víctor García's penalty appeal was also rejected, the home crowd went livid when Ferreiro was sent off for a second yellow card when he clearly played the ball, leaving Malaga to see out the remaining 13 minutes with a numerical disadvantage.

This handed some momentum back to Murcia who did an excellent job in stifling the hosts and seeing out the game to claim the point they so desperately wanted.