Malaga 1-1 Espanyol: Niño Heredia levels in third minute of stoppage time
Malaga snatched a last-gasp 1-1 draw against Espanyol through Adrian Niño Heredia, cancelling out Bryan Zaragoza's early opener.
- Zaragoza puts Espanyol ahead in the 13th minute, Niño Heredia levels in the 93rd
- Two VAR checks for Malaga in the second half
- Malaga bottom of the table on 4 points, Espanyol 11th on 8
Malaga 1-1 Espanyol
Scorers: Bryan Zaragoza 13' (Espanyol), Adrian Niño Heredia 90'+3 (Malaga)
The match
Espanyol took the lead through Bryan Zaragoza in the 13th minute at La Rosaleda. The game then turned tetchy: Javi Hernández was booked on 24 minutes, followed by a double yellow card on 28 minutes for Malaga's Carlos Puga and Espanyol's Zaragoza. Chupe was also cautioned on 42 minutes.
Espanyol made their first change on 57 minutes, Urko González de Zárate replacing Javi Hernández. Omar El Hilali picked up a yellow card on 60 minutes, and Malaga had a VAR review on 61 minutes. The home side responded with a triple substitution on 63 minutes, bringing on Adam Aznou, Carlos Dotor and Adrian Niño Heredia for Carlos Puga, Joaquín Muñoz and Rafa Rodríguez. Dotor was booked shortly after, on 67 minutes.
Espanyol withdrew Zaragoza for Álex Calatrava on 73 minutes, while Malaga brought on Izan Merino for Fernando Calero on 74 minutes. A flurry of late changes followed for Espanyol: Roger Hinojo and Pere Milla on 82 minutes, Marcos Fernández on 83 minutes, matched by Malaga's introduction of Haitam Abaida at the same point. Clemens Riedel was booked on 84 minutes, and Malaga had a second VAR check on 85 minutes. Further yellow cards followed for Roger Hinojo (87') and Adam Aznou (89').
The equaliser came in the third minute of stoppage time: Adrian Niño Heredia, on for just over half an hour, scored to make it 1-1 and seal the final result.
The numbers
- Corners: 8-2 Malaga
- Shots: 15-9 Malaga
- Possession: 58%-42% Malaga
- Fouls: 10-15 Espanyol
- Yellow cards: 4-5 Espanyol
- Shots on target: 7-4 Malaga
Table and next fixtures
Espanyol move to 8 points from 8 games (2 wins, 2 draws, 4 defeats) and stay 11th. Malaga, with this draw, reach 4 points from 8 matches, still without a win (0W, 4D, 4L), bottom of the table in 19th place out of 20 teams.
At the top, FC Barcelona lead with 21 points from seven wins out of seven, ahead of Atletico Madrid and Real Betis on 16, with Real Madrid on 15.
Upcoming fixtures: Malaga host Real Sociedad on Sunday 18 October at 18:30 CET (17:30 UK), while Espanyol welcome Atletico Madrid on Saturday 17 October at 14:00 CET (13:00 UK).