Eibar held 1-1 by last-place Malaga in La Liga

Eighth-place Eibar had to come from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw with Malaga, the worst team in Spanish La Liga here.

The hosts got off to a positive start and nearly grabbed the early lead on a powerful shot by Cote that sailed just over the cross bar on Monday, reports Efe.

Instead, Malaga surged ahead 1-0 in the 15th minute after Youssef En-Nesyri took advantage of Ander Capa's disastrous giveaway to put the ball past Eibar goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.

The setback seemed to make no impact on the home side's spirits.

With the crowd behind them, the locals pushed forward and it took a fine save by Malaga keeper Roberto to prevent Takashi Inui from equalising in the 22nd minute.

As the first half wore on, however, the visitors emerged as the more confident side.

Malaga remained buoyant after the re-start with an attack that relied on long balls to En-Nesyri, whose pace was just too much for Eibar defenders Anaitz Arbilla and Paulo Oliveira.

Adrian looked poised to make it 2-0 for the visitors in the 55th minute after another defensive blunder by Eibar, but the midfielder shot the ball straight into Dmitrovic's hands.

Eibar finally pulled level in the 75th minute, when Bebe's cross found Kike Garcia open in front of the net.

The hosts went all out for the win in the final stretch, only to see Roberto come up big again to stop a shot by Charles to preserve the point for Malaga.

--IANS

tri/mr