Real Murcia 1 - Málaga 2

Real Murcia: Juanmi; Juanma, Cuadrado, Loeschbor, Clavero; Acciari, Michel (Fredi 83'); Julio Alvarez (Diego Quintana 70'), Luis García, Richi; David Karanka (Esnaider 70'). 4-2-3-1.
Málaga: Calatayud; Rojas (Leko 58'), Fernando Sanz, Litos, Valcarce; Miguel Angel, Romero (Canabal 87'); Gerardo, Edgar, Insúa (Manu 58'); Salva. 4-2-3-1.

Team changes: Murcia: Julio Alvarez for Pedro Largo / Málaga: Rojas, Gerardo for Josemi, Duda.

Goals:
0-1. 16. Insúa. Free kick from outside area which took a deflection off wall.
1-1. 23. David Karanka. Picked up loose ball on edge of area and fired shot home.
1-2. 92. Canabal. Rolled shot into empty net after Juanmi failed to collect ball.

An error by Real Murcia's Juanmi in injury time allowed Málaga to steal away the three points at the Condomina stadium. In a mix up with team mate Loeschbor, the keeper let the ball through his hands to allow late substitute Canabal to make it 1-2 to the Andalucians.

The visitors had taken the lead on the quarter hour mark when Insúa's free kick took a deflection off the defensive wall to wrong-foot Juanmi, but David Karanka equalised a few minutes later after the defence failed to clear a long cross.

After that the home side dominated, with Karanka seeing efforts stopped by visiting defender Litos and then keeper Calatayud, and Richi also failing to find the target before the interval.

The game continued in the same vein after the restart, with Calatayud making further vital saves from Karanka and Luis García. But just when it seemed that Murcia were on for their sixth draw in a row, Canabal sneaked in to score the winner.

Even so the locals could have saved a point when Fredi crashed a last gasp free kick against the bar. But the three points went South, taking Málaga up to a heady seventh spot, just a point outside the Champions League places. Murcia drop further down into the relegation zone, and manager Joaquín Peiró may well not be in charge when the league resumes after the two week Christmas break.