Alaves 1-1 Malaga: Manas Rebound Denies Winless Malaga at the Death
Substitute Aitor Manas pounced on an 89th-minute rebound to cancel out Adrian Nino's opener, leaving Malaga still without a La Liga win and Alaves six games without one of their own.
Two teams desperate for a win produced a finish that denied them both. Malaga, bottom-six and still winless in La Liga, were a minute plus stoppage time from their first victory of the season on Friday when Aitor Manas turned in an 89th-minute rebound to make it 1-1 at Alaves, a result confirmed by ESPN's match page and Fox Sports' boxscore.
Nino strikes before the break
According to The Sports Encounter's match report, Malaga arrived off a 5-2 home defeat to Real Sociedad and reshuffled their lineup, weathering early pressure before growing into the game. Just before half-time, Adrian Nino finished from Ramon Enriquez's pass for his fourth league goal of the season, and the goal survived a VAR check for offside. Goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero then held the lead almost single-handedly as Alaves — per the same report — piled up 18 shots to Malaga's six and sent in 22 crosses.
The late collapse
The equalizer arrived from the second wave: Toni Martinez met an Angel Perez cross with a header, Herrero saved, and the substitute Manas buried the rebound in the 89th minute. Malaga protested a foul in the buildup — The Sports Encounter reports the visitors claimed Angel Recio had been fouled, with Juanfran Funes booked for his complaints — but the goal stood. Perez also struck the crossbar and Lucas Boye went close late as Quique Sanchez Flores' side pushed for a winner that never came.
What it means
Malaga move to five points from ten games, all draws, and the first win keeps receding. Alaves took a point but extended a winless league run to six matches — two points from the last 18 available, per The Sports Encounter — and a home draw against the division's bottom side does little to quiet concerns that a decent start is quietly unravelling.