Sevilla 2-2 Malaga: Points Shared In Manic Andalusian Derby

A second half Luis Fabiano double ensured that Sevilla earned a point from an intense Andalusian derby.

Manolo Jimenez decided to go with the strike pair of Luis Fabiano and Alvaro Negredo, while Victor Obinna was handed a start for the visitors.

Sevilla dominated the opening stages as expected, but the major action of the initial period came in a bizarre off the field incident. After insulting the referee from the bench following a debatable decision, Albert Luque was given his marching orders. Meanwhile, Negredo and Fabiano both came close with strikes that did not miss by much.

The hosts had the chance to go to the top of the table against the bottom placed side, so it was a major surprise when Fernando gave the visitors the lead on 22 minutes. A corner eventually found its way to Nabil Baha, whose shot was saved by Javi Varas. However, the rebound fell straight to Fernando, who slotted home with ease.

Los Nervionenses continued to boss possession, but they were not creating enough clear cut chances. Indeed, Malaga looked as likely to score from one of their counter-attacks. Still, everyone in the Pizjuan thought Sevilla had equalized on 35 minutes, but the ball somehow stayed out. Fabiano headed Jesus Navas' cross onto the post, but all Negredo had to do was head the rebound into an empty net. Unbelievably, he managed to head wide from about two yards out.

Just when it seemed as though Sevilla would head into half-time ready to regroup, Malaga struck a cruel blow on the stroke of half-time. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box, Fernando unleashed what looked like a mishit shot that fell straight into the path of Duda, who smashed the ball into the bottom corner against his old club. Thus Sevilla went into the break two goals down at home against the bottom side in the league, as one of the shocks of the season looked on the cards.

The second half started in a similar vein, with Malaga playing mainly on the counter. On 54 minutes, they thought they had taken an astonishing 3-0 lead, but Nabil Baha was correctly adjudged to have been marginally offside when he bundled the ball in. Meanwhile, Frederic Kanoute came on for Renato, as Sevilla continued to chase the game. Seconds later, Negredo had another free header, but it went straight at Munua, who then claimed to have been hit in the face by Dragutinovic's boot.

The match was heating up, and it took another turn on 57 minutes, when Fabiano finally broke the deadlock, heading a corner past Munua. Buoyed by their lifelines, the home side continued to push forward, but they still looked suspect in defence. With twenty minutes left, Apono tried an ambitious effort from way out, but it took a sprawling effort from Varas to keep the ball out.

Emery then made his final changes, bringing Diego Capel and Sergio Sanchez on for Negredo and Abdoulay Konko. Seconds later, the home side had equalized, as Fabiano smashed the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, having been found by Kanoute. The momentum was now with Sevilla, and they looked likely to be the next to score.

With 15 minutes remaining, Fernando Forestieri replaced Nabil Baha for Malaga. Soon, Fernando was also replaced, with Valdo taking his place. It seemed as though neither side would find the winner, especially when Fernando Navarro's point blank header was saved, probably by accident, by Munua. Both sides were looking for the win, but neither could find a way through in the closing stages, as they shared the points in one of the most exciting encounters of the season.