Malaga Stun League-Leaders Deportivo with Three-Goal Masterclass at La Rosaleda, Ending Winless Skid

In the sun-baked October air of La Rosaleda, a season’s script was torn to shreds as Malaga, mired in the Segunda División’s depths, dismantled previously unbeaten Deportivo La Coruña 3-0 and summoned a roar not heard in Andalusia for months.

For a side that entered the match perilously anchored in 20th place, carrying the bruises of four straight defeats, this was less an ordinary result than an unexpected uprising—a performance that, for ninety minutes, made a mockery of the league table and recent form.

Chupete’s Early Strikes Redefine the Narrative

The script flipped almost before the crowd settled. In the 9th minute, Chupete—so often a goal-starved forward in recent weeks—found a seam and slotted home a low shot past Deportivo goalkeeper Ian Mackay, lighting up the stands and infusing a team battered by doubts with sudden belief.

Malaga’s press, direct and relentless, unsettled a Deportivo side that had built its table-topping campaign on patient possession and resolute shape. By the 32nd minute, Chupete doubled Malaga’s lead, finishing a swift counterattack following a turnover in the center of the pitch. His brace marked not only a personal renaissance (he had scored only twice in the prior seven matches) but also sent a jolt through a Deportivo defense that had conceded just four times all season before tonight.

Turning Point: The Second Half Start

Deportivo, uncharacteristically passive, emerged from halftime with a mountain to climb. Yet any hopes of a restoration were dashed almost immediately as Rafa Rodríguez—latching onto a clever flick on the edge of the area—crashed a shot into the top corner in the 49th minute. The third goal broke whatever fragile resistance remained, and for the first time this season, Deportivo looked every bit a team out of answers.

La Rosaleda reveled, sensing the magnitude of the moment. Malaga, so often nervy and reactive this autumn, played with a poise and verve that belied their recent results—a side that had managed just two goals in its last four outings now found itself three ahead with more than half an hour to play.

Form and Fortune Subverted

The shockwaves from this result will travel beyond Andalusia. Deportivo arrived as the league’s pacesetters: unbeaten, with sixteen points from eight matches, riding a wave of confidence built on comprehensive wins over Huesca and Mirandés and a solid pair of draws in their previous two encounters. Their last five outings included a 4-0 demolition of Huesca and a thumping 5-1 victory at Mirandés, the attack purring and the defense rarely troubled.

Malaga, meanwhile, had been in freefall—a side with one draw and four painful defeats in its previous five, including a 0-3 implosion at Racing Santander and a pair of listless home losses. Yet it was Malaga who played with the conviction of contenders, snapping every chain of doubt that their recent form had forged.

What This Means for the Standings

The standings received an overdue shake-up. Malaga’s win hauls them out of the relegation zone, inching to 8 points and providing the first truly positive inflection in their season. While still 20th, there is, at last, proof of life—and proof that in football, form is sometimes merely prelude.

Deportivo, despite retaining first place on 16 points, now taste defeat for the first time under Juanfran’s tenure. Their aura of invincibility has evaporated, inviting the pack below to close the gap. Four wins and four draws had given them a fragile cushion; now, the league’s top spot feels less secure than at any point this autumn.

Head-to-Head and The Stakes Ahead

Historically, clashes between Malaga and Deportivo have rarely been so lopsided. Their previous meetings have typically been tight, hard-fought contests. Tonight’s performance breaks with tradition and heaps pressure on Deportivo ahead of a demanding run, as chasers like Eibar and Almeria, both within striking distance, eye their slip with relish.

For Malaga, this victory is more than fleeting relief. It is a foundation. Manager Sergio Pellicer now has tangible hope around which to rally a locker room that had seemed fractured. The challenge will be to bottle the attacking intent and dynamism witnessed tonight and carry it forward in a league where the margins grow finer each week.

For Deportivo, the challenge is twofold: to digest the humbling and rediscover the defensive solidity and attacking calm that have, until tonight, characterized their campaign. How they respond will speak volumes about their title credentials.

The Segunda División rarely delivers by the script. On Sunday night at La Rosaleda, Malaga delivered a reminder that, sometimes, the table lies—and that belief, when rediscovered, can topple giants.