Atletico Madrid suffered their first loss of the season against a hard-fighting Sevilla XI, 1-0, on the road at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium last Sunday, as per SkySports.
After a goalless first half of play, Sevilla midfielder Steven N'Zonzi provided the lone goal of the match in the 73rd minute for Los Rojiblancos, who took advantage of head coach Diego Simeone's 10-man squad late in the game.
Spanish midfielder Koke was sent off four minutes after N'Zonzi's goal as he was booked with a second yellow card for fouling Sevilla defender Adil Rami. From there, Los Colchoneros' attempt for a comeback was doused off as they conceded their first defeat this term.
The loss dropped Atleti to the fifth spot of the league table after briefly being on top. Real Madrid, Sevilla, Barcelona, and Villarreal had all overtaken them as the four clubs won their round 9 matches.
Meanwhile, Malaga is coming off a crushing 4-0 victory over newly-promoted side Leganes at their home ground of La Rosaleda Stadium also last Sunday, via Sporting Life.
Four different players scored a goal each for head coach Juande Ramos' side, namely Jony, Chory Castro, Sandro, and Ignacio Camacho to complete the four-goal masterpiece.
Jony netted the opening goal in the 40th before Castro doubled the lead two minutes later. The scoring continued in the 57th with Sandro's close-range header from the center of the box while Camacho sealed the win with a goal two minutes into stoppage time.
The win was the second in three games for Los Boquerones and their third consecutive unbeaten performance.
Head To Head
The two meetings between these clubs last term both ended in 1-0 home wins. Atleti have won 4 of their last 5 home games against Malaga.
Atletico Madrid vs Malaga Stats
Atleti have won 1-0 in 5 of their last 9 home games in all competitions. There have been under 2.5 goals in 7 of Malaga's last 8 away games in La Liga.
Atletico Madrid Team News
Koke is suspended so Nicolas Gaitan should start on the right with Gabi and Saul in central midfield. Jose Gimenez is fit again but Stefan Savic is expected to keep his place alongside Diego Godin in central defence.
Malaga Team News
Diego Llorente, Weligton and Miguel Torres are all out injured for Malaga. Villanueva is likely to start at centre-back as a result. Juanpi returns from suspension and should play just off Sandro, who will be the lone striker.
