Malaga 1-1 Espanyol: Niño's Stoppage-Time Rescue at La Rosaleda
Bryan Zaragoza's 13th-minute opener looked enough for Espanyol until Adrian Niño struck three minutes into added time.
Promoted sides learn quickly that seasons are built on nights like this one. Malaga 1-1 Espanyol at La Rosaleda on Friday, with the hosts' equaliser arriving deep into stoppage time after an evening spent chasing the game.
An early blow
Bryan Zaragoza put Espanyol ahead in the 13th minute, finishing from a Javi Hernandez assist, and the visitors carried the better of the chances to halftime. For long stretches it looked like the kind of away performance — an early goal, then organised resistance — that quietly wins promoted teams' home grounds.
Malaga's long chase
The second half was almost entirely one-directional. Malaga piled up corners and shots, and Espanyol goalkeeper Angel Fortuño was repeatedly called on, finishing with six saves, according to Fox Sports' match data. The game turned scrappy as it wore on — nine yellow cards in all — before Adrian Niño, Malaga's top scorer this season, turned a Rafita assist into the equaliser roughly three minutes into stoppage time.
What it means
For Malaga, back in La Liga this season after promotion, it is a point rescued rather than two dropped — though Sports Mole's form guide shows the bigger picture: no win in their last six in all competitions, with draws against Celta Vigo, Levante and Deportivo alongside defeats to Getafe, Villarreal and Real Madrid. Niño keeps bailing out the attack, but survival runs are rarely sustained on stoppage-time rescues alone. Espanyol, beaten by Elche and Rayo Vallecano in recent weeks, will view a lead held for nearly 80 minutes and then surrendered as an opportunity missed.