Málaga 3 - Alavés 1

Málaga: Contreras; Larrainzar, Bravo, Valcarce; Rufete, De los Santos, Movilla, Agostinho (Rojas 60'); Zárate (Iznata 60'); Darío Silva (Sandro 80'), Dely Valdés. 3-4-1-2.
Alavés: Herrera; Contra, Karmona, Eggen, Geli; Tomic, Desio (Iván Alonso 55'); Astudillo, Jordi Cruyff (Mario 70'), Magno (Ibon Begoña 55'); Javi Moreno. 4-2-3-1.

Team changes: Málaga: De los Santos, Darío Silva, Agostinho for Rojas, Roteta, Iznata / Alavés: No change.

Goals:
1-0. 14. Darío Silva. Header close up after De los Santos headed on corner.
2-0. 45. Dely Valdés. Half hit shot after Agostinho crossed from left.
3-0. 81. Dely Valdés. Headed down following cross from Rufete on left.
3-1. 89. Ibon Begoña. Open goal after Contreras missed cross under pressure.

Euro-Alavés suffered another Euro-lashback, losing to Málaga only three days after playing a UEFA cup tie against Rosenborg. Three of their four defeats this season have come after playing midweek European matches, and last year's revelation team are finding out the harsh realities of life at the top level as they drop out of the top six down to seventh position. After unsuccessfully trying out a new formation in that match, Mané went back to the tried and tested five man midfield, with Karmona, Tomic and Magno returning to the starting line up. Málaga, who had only taken one point from three matches before this one, recovered Darío Silva and De los Santos, although Edgar and Roteta were added to the long list of injuries midweek.

The man who did the damage was Dely Valdés, finally coming good in the last few weeks after a slow start, and the memories of Catanha at the Málaga sharp end are rapidly fading as the Panamanian striker scored his sixth and seventh of the season. True, his first goal was fortunate, mis-hitting a cross from Agostinho which fooled keeper Herrera, (hitherto best keeper in the Spanish league this season before letting in three here), but his second headed goal was better, as he explained to an excited fan over a mobile phone he picked out of the crowd, his celebration trademark. Before that Darío Silva had given his side an early lead, and keeper Contreras had made the save of the day from Javi Moreno to hold on to it. The 15,000 crowd, who booed off their players at the last home match, were doing the Mexican wave by the end of this one, and even a late consolation by Ibon Begoña didn't dampen their spirits as they saw the spectre of relegation gradually dissipating, at least for the time being. If nothing else, Spanish football fans must be amongst the most fickle in the world.