Málaga defended its advantage against Las Palmas and reached the LaLiga promotion playoff final
Málaga CF reached the promotion playoff final for entry into LaLiga after drawing 1:1 against UD Las Palmas on June 10, 2026, at La Rosaleda stadium in the second leg of the semifinal of Spain's LaLiga 2, namely LaLiga Hypermotion. According to Málaga CF's official report, Juan Francisco Funes's team advanced 2:1 on aggregate, because it had won 1:0 in the first match in the Canary Islands. The second leg began in the hardest possible way for the home side, since Jesé Rodríguez, already in the 2nd minute, according to the official match record, put Las Palmas in front and thereby temporarily levelled the tie. Málaga nevertheless withstood the pressure, and Joaquín Muñoz's goal in the 68th minute was enough for the final 1:1 and for continuing the fight to return to the highest tier of Spanish football. In the stands of La Rosaleda, according to the club report, there were 29,937 spectators, which gave the match the atmosphere of one of the most important nights of the season.
Jesé's early goal changed the match plan
Málaga entered the match with a minimal advantage from the first leg, but that advantage disappeared almost immediately after the opening whistle. According to Málaga CF's report, Las Palmas scored from the first dangerous move, when Marvin Park broke through on the right side and found Jesé, and the visiting striker finished the move for 0:1. That goal carried double weight: it changed the psychological framework of the match and forced the home team to chase a result again, even though before the match it had been enough for them to defend the advantage gained in Las Palmas. In that course of events, Las Palmas gained additional confidence, while Málaga had to avoid nervousness in front of an almost full stadium. Still, according to the same source, the response of the home supporters was louder pressure from the stands, not a drop in intensity, which helped the team return to a more stable rhythm.
The first half remained tactically closed, with few clear chances and great caution on both sides. Málaga tried several times through Joaquín Muñoz to threaten Dinko Horkas's goal, while David Larrubia, the scorer of the winning goal in the first match, gradually received more space for individual runs. Las Palmas, on the other hand, tried to control the rhythm and punish every lost ball by the home team, aware that a second goal would significantly change the prospects of advancing. According to the club report, the visitors had attempts through Estanislao Pedrola in the closing stages of the first half, but the score did not change before the break. At halftime Las Palmas led 1:0, and the aggregate score of the two matches was level.
Joaquín Muñoz brought La Rosaleda back to celebration
After the restart, the match opened up just enough for Málaga to begin creating clearer situations in front of the visitors' goal. According to the official report of the home club, Joaquín already had a dangerous shot from the left side of the attack in the 50th minute, and Carlos Ruiz, also known as Chupe, forced Horkas into an important save after a corner in the 57th minute. Las Palmas still had a score that kept them in the game, but they were no longer able to get out of the home team's pressure equally easily. In the 67th minute, Funes turned to substitutions and introduced Adrián Niño and Rafa Rodríguez, trying to gain more energy in the final third of the pitch. Only a few moments later came the key moment of the match: Joaquín Muñoz scored for 1:1 and restored Málaga's advantage in the aggregate score.
The official match record lists Joaquín's goal in the 68th minute, while the club report described the shot as a powerful attempt placed next to the post. The goal changed the emotional tone of the match, because from that moment Las Palmas again had to search for a goal to extend their hopes, while Málaga gained space for faster transitions forward. In the 74th minute, Horkas stopped a big chance for Adrián Niño in a one-on-one situation, preventing Málaga from practically closing out the tie. The visitors tried to respond in the closing stages through Manu Fuster and Kirian Rodríguez, but they failed to find a second goal. After more than eight minutes of added time, according to Málaga CF's report, the final whistle confirmed the home side's passage into the final.
The advantage from the first match proved decisive
The key to the semifinal was the result of the first match, played on June 7, 2026, in Gran Canaria. According to an EFE agency report published by El País, Málaga defeated Las Palmas there 1:0, and the only goal was scored by David Larrubia in the 56th minute. That result did not provide certainty, but it allowed Funes's team not to have to chase a deficit in the second leg. Las Palmas wiped out that advantage with an early goal in Málaga, but they failed to build enough clear chances to overturn the aggregate score. Ultimately, the tie was decided by a combination of the away victory in the first match, patience in the toughest part of the second leg and Joaquín's efficiency at the moment when the pressure was greatest.
According to LaLiga's official data for the playoff second-leg day, Málaga and Las Palmas played on June 10 at 21:00, and the match was refereed by Rafael Sánchez López. In the same schedule, LaLiga also records UD Almería's 3:2 victory against CD Castellón a day earlier, which confirmed the second playoff finalist. Those results mean that Málaga and Almería, two teams that finished the regular part of the season in the playoff zone, will fight for the final place in LaLiga EA Sports. According to LaLiga's official table, Racing Club and RC Deportivo had already secured direct promotion to the top tier, while Almería, Málaga, Las Palmas and Castellón entered the playoffs. Thus, after the semifinal, Málaga remained the only obstacle for Almería on the path toward a return to the elite, but also gained its own chance to end the season with the greatest possible success.
The playoffs in Spain reward better-ranked teams
The format of the LaLiga Hypermotion playoffs further increases the importance of placement in the regular part of the season. According to explanations by Spanish media about the playoff rules, the semifinals and final are played over two matches, and the better-ranked team usually plays the second leg in front of its own supporters. If the aggregate score is level after two matches, extra time is played, and if there is still no winner after extra time, the better-ranked team from the league table advances, without a penalty shootout. That rule did not directly decide the tie between Málaga and Las Palmas, because Málaga finished with an aggregate score of 2:1, but it did influence the approach to the match. Las Palmas knew that, because of their weaker placement in relation to Málaga, they needed an aggregate victory for safe passage, not just parity after 180 or 210 minutes.
Precisely because of that, Jesé's early goal was not enough to give the visitors control over the entire tie. Las Palmas, with 1:0 in the second leg, levelled the aggregate score, but still had to be careful about the risk that one home goal would again change all relationships. Málaga, although shaken at the start, could build the match more patiently because they knew that the result from the first match would again become important as soon as they returned to the scoreboard. Such dynamics often mark the Spanish promotion playoffs, in which the psychological burden is not the same for both teams. In this semifinal, that burden was felt more strongly by Las Palmas after Joaquín's equaliser, because in the closing stages the visitors needed one more goal just to reopen the tie.
Las Palmas left without a return after relegation from the elite
For Las Palmas, elimination in the semifinal is especially painful because it is a club that entered the season with the ambition of a quick return to the top tier. According to LaLiga's official table and playoff schedule, the team from the Canary Islands finished the regular part in the playoff zone, but behind Málaga, which deprived them of the advantage of a home second leg and any possible benefit in the event of a complete draw. In two matches against Málaga, Las Palmas scored only one goal, even though in the second leg they early reached a situation that could have turned the entire series. Luis García's team after that did not find enough solutions against the home side's defence and the increasingly organised pressure in the second half. According to available reports, the visitors kept trying until the end through attacking changes and a wider rotation, but the final pressure did not bring the goal that would have taken the match into a new phase.
For Málaga, by contrast, the semifinal confirmed the continuity of good results in the closing stages of the season and the team's ability to cope with high-pressure matches. The club report stresses that Funes made two changes in the second leg compared with the first match: Montero replaced the injured Einar in defence, and Joaquín started instead of Aarón Ochoa on the left wing. It was precisely Joaquín, as one of the players the coach decided to rely on from the first minute, who ultimately became the scorer of the most important goal. Alongside him, Larrubia, who carried part of the attacking play and had earlier decided the match in Las Palmas, and the home defence, which after the shock at the beginning managed to prevent the visitors from getting a second goal, played major roles. Such an outcome gave Málaga both a results-based and emotional boost ahead of the final.
The final against Almería brings the last fight for LaLiga
Málaga will play in the playoff final against UD Almería, which eliminated Castellón in its semifinal with an aggregate score of 4:3. According to LaLiga's official results schedule, Almería won the second leg 3:2 on June 9, after the first match had ended 1:1. Reports in Spanish media state that Almería reached the final after a dramatic comeback in the closing stages, and the decisive goal was scored by Stefan Džodić in added time. Thus the final received two clubs with different paths through the semifinal: Málaga defended a minimal advantage and withstood Las Palmas's surge, while Almería advanced after an extremely open and goal-rich tie with Castellón. Both teams now enter the final 180 minutes of the season, in which the third traveller to LaLiga EA Sports will be decided.
According to the schedule published by results services and Spanish media, the first match of the final will be played on June 14, 2026, in Málaga, and the second leg on June 20 in Almería. Such a schedule reflects the fact that Almería finished better placed in the regular part, so they will have the decisive match at their stadium. Málaga will therefore have to try in the first match to use the atmosphere of La Rosaleda, which proved an important factor in the semifinal, but also avoid a scenario in which Almería would have results control ahead of the second leg. For Funes's team, that means a new test of balance between ambition and caution, because against Las Palmas they showed that they can survive an early blow, but the final against Almería will probably require an even higher level of concentration. The LaLiga Hypermotion season will therefore end with an Andalusian duel in which the last ticket to the highest tier of Spanish football is decided.
Sources:
- Málaga CF – official report from the second-leg match Málaga - Las Palmas, including the result, scorers, course of the match, attendance and confirmation of progression to the final (link)
- LaLiga – official LaLiga Hypermotion results for the playoff second legs, including times, referees and results of the matches Málaga - Las Palmas and Almería - Castellón (link)
- LaLiga – official LaLiga Hypermotion table with confirmation of directly promoted clubs and playoff participants (link)
- El País / EFE – report from the first semifinal match Las Palmas - Málaga and details on David Larrubia's goal (link)
- Cadena SER – report from the second leg and additional context about Málaga's progression, the closing stages of the match and the final against Almería (link)
- Flashscore – schedule of the playoff final Málaga - Almería and Almería - Málaga (link)
- AS – explanation of the format and rules of the LaLiga Hypermotion playoffs, including extra time, the advantage of the better-ranked team and the final schedule (link)