A leader’s reaction (2-1)
Berrocal gave Eibar the win in the 90th minute, two minutes after Malaga's equaliser
Eibar staged a leader's comeback to snatch a 90th-minute winner, just two minutes after Malaga's equaliser. The 2-1 win, with Stoichkov grabbing the opener, keeps Gaizka Garitano's side at the top of the LaLiga SmartBank table.
The start of the game was overwhelmingly dominated by the Armeros, with possession percentages in excess of 75 per cent. Eibar pressed and created danger. Tejero's left-footed shot from inside the box following a good attacking combination went narrowly wide in the 10th minute, and former Eibar player Burgos headed clear a Stoichkov shot with the keeper beaten in the 19th minute.
As the minutes wore on, the intensity of the home side's dominance gradually eased, although this didn't prevent Eibar from taking the lead in the 31st minute. As a result of Garitano's side's pressing, a poor headed pass from the Malaguista defence was capitalised on by Stoichkov, who controlled the ball, advanced into the box and scored with a spectacular left-footed shot that flew into the net after hitting the post.
Eibar began the second half with the intention of extending their lead and Sergio came close in the 48th minute with a header from Tejero's pass that went narrowly wide.
As they were forced to take risks to avoid a defeat that would keep them second-bottom in the table, Málaga pushed forward and had chances to equalise.
Eibar stood firm in defence and tried to exploit the gaps left by their opponents to put the game to bed. With the game almost over, Esteban Burgos struck the ball into the net after a rebound in the area to set up a seemingly definitive equaliser in the 88th minute. The Argentinian defender apologised to the fans who he had once represented during his three- season spell with Eibar between 2019 and 2022.
With the belief that comes with being league leaders, Garitano's team didn't give up and they found the back of the net again in the 90th minute. Álvaro Vadillo swung in a corner from the left and Juan Berrocal headed into the net to provoke delirium in the crowd, who cheered the team on non-stop throughout the game and were rewarded with a long-suffering, hard-earned and deserved victory.