Gutsy Eibar claim 1-1 draw against Málaga
Kike García's strike was enough to see the hosts get their points tally up and running for the second half of the campaign
Eibar took a point from their La Liga Matchday 20 fixture in what proved to be a surprisingly tough encounter against Málaga. The visitors barely allowed the Armeros to play their usual game and went into the break in the ascendancy. However, despite this not being their best performance of the season, the home side showed real courage to haul themselves level, with Kike García's strike ensuring that the spoils were ultimately shared.
The visitors wasted no time in showing just how keen they were to get on top and began the game looking intent on giving Eibar a tough night. José González's charges fired in some early warning shots and went in front in the 16th minute. Youssef En-Nesyri stole possession on halfway and bore down on Marko Dmitrović before firing low and hard into the net from inside the area.
Up until now, Eibar had barely threatened Roberto's goal, although they had made inroads into the visitors' box, with the clearest opportunity coming courtesy of a Kike García header, which flew wide of the upright. After having conceded, the Armeros looked to go on and dominate proceedings, although they were struggling to produce their usual threat down the flanks, with the visitors producing a strong rearguard action. In the 23rd minute, Takashi Inui unleashed a fierce effort from the edge of the area which drew a diving save from Roberto. Málaga, meanwhile, were waiting for their chance to hit on the counter-attack.
After the restart, Eibar came out in search of an equaliser but were hampered by constant mistakes when playing the ball out from the back. José Luis Mendilibar opted to introduce Fabián Orellana and Bebé in an effort to offer Eibar's attacking play a greater sharpness. With 74 minutes on the clock, Bebé crossed from the left and Kike García stole a yard to turn the ball home and level the scores.
After having restored parity, Eibar went on to create their best openings of the night, with the hosts laying siege to the Málaga goal in search of a winner. The Armeros had their chances and had it not been for some smart goalkeeping, they would have claimed all three points, with Kike García twice failing to convert in one-on-one situations.