Málaga secured its return to LaLiga after eight years with a victory in Almería
Málaga CF is returning to the highest tier of Spanish football after a dramatic 2:1 victory against UD Almería in the second leg of the LaLiga Hypermotion playoff final. The match was played on June 20, 2026, at the stadium in Almería that LaLiga lists in its official match report as UD Almería Stadium, while in the broader sporting context it is often associated with the Juegos Mediterráneos complex. According to LaLiga's official data, the home side returned to late pressure after a goal by Léo Baptistão, but Málaga had previously gained the key advantage through goals from Chupe and David Larrubia. Since the first leg of the final in Málaga ended 0:0, the away victory in the second leg was enough for an aggregate 2:1 and the club's return to LaLiga EA Sports for the 2026/27 season. For Almería, it meant another painful end to a season in which it had a realistic chance of securing a return to the elite division until the final match.
A shift in the balance of power after the goalless match at La Rosaleda
The final elimination tie began on June 14, 2026, at La Rosaleda Stadium, where Málaga and Almería played 0:0, which gave the second leg an almost completely open competitive framework. According to AS data, Almería had an important structural advantage before the second match because it had finished the regular part of the season ahead of Málaga; in the event of a tied aggregate score after extra time, the advantage belonged to the higher-ranked side. LaLiga stated in the official match profile that Almería was third with 74 points before the second leg, while Málaga was fourth with 73 points, showing how narrow the gap between the two Andalusian clubs was. That detail significantly influenced the character of the match: the home side did not necessarily need a triumph, while Málaga had to find a winning result. That is precisely why the 2:1 away success carried additional weight, because Juanfran Funes's team had to overcome both the opponent and a competitive scenario that favored Almería before the evening began.
Chupe and Larrubia decided the final within a few minutes
The first half ended without goals, but it was not without rhythm or danger. According to Málaga's club report, the visitors threatened down the right side already in the early stages, and Chupe had situations in the fifth and eleventh minutes that could have changed the course of the match. Almería responded through Daijiro Chirino and Miguel de la Fuente, while the home side relied in the closing stages of the first half on Dion Lopy's physical presence and attempts to calm the visiting pressure. LaLiga recorded in the official match flow that the half ended 0:0, and then the continuation gradually brought greater pressure from Málaga. In the 65th minute, Chupe scored for 0:1 after an assist from Joaquín Muñoz, and six minutes later David Larrubia increased it to 0:2 after a pass from Chupe. At that moment, Almería, which until then could count on a more favorable status in the event of a draw, suddenly had to score two goals in order to turn the aggregate situation around again.
According to Málaga's official report, Chupe's goal was his 25th goal of the season, while Larrubia reached his twelfth. These data further emphasize that the decisive moment of the season did not happen by chance, but resulted from the impact of players who had already carried the team's attacking identity earlier. Chupe first used the space and finished the move precisely, and then he took part in the second goal, which practically forced Almería into a more open, riskier finish. Larrubia's goal was especially valuable because it came before the home coach Rubi could stabilize his team's reaction in the long term. With that strike, Málaga took complete control of the elimination tie, but the closing stages showed that a playoff for entry into LaLiga is rarely over before the referee's final whistle.
Baptistão brought uncertainty back, but Almería did not find a second goal
Almería reacted quickly with substitutions and tried to change the rhythm of the match through fresh legs on the flanks and in attack. LaLiga recorded in the official match flow that Léo Baptistão entered the game in the 59th minute instead of Nico Melamed, and it was precisely he who reduced the score to 1:2 in the 76th minute after a pass from Adrián Embarba. According to Cadena SER's report, that goal gave the home side new energy in the final fifteen minutes or so, while Málaga had to defend its advantage under increasing pressure. Almería continued to look for an equalizer, and LaLiga's official report records attempts by Baptistão, Sergio Arribas, Jon Morcillo and Federico Bonini in the closing stages. The most important of those situations came in stoppage time, when Bonini's header was saved by Alfonso Herrero, thus preserving the result that took Málaga to the First Division.
The closing stages were also marked by nervousness, which is often the consequence of matches in which an entire season is decided. LaLiga recorded ten minutes of stoppage time, a red card for Thalys in the 90th minute for violent conduct, and a second yellow card for Aarón Ochoa in stoppage time. The statistical framework confirms that the encounter was balanced: according to LaLiga, ball possession was 49.4 percent for Almería and 50.6 percent for Málaga, the home side had 13 shots, and the visitors 12. The difference, however, was in efficiency, because Málaga had greater shooting accuracy and used the key attacking moments in the second half. When the match ended, the 1:2 result represented not only a victory in one match, but the end of an eight-year wait for the club from southern Spain.
Funes's project received confirmation on the most important evening of the season
Coach Juanfran Funes became one of the central figures of Málaga's rise because he led the team through the playoffs to the greatest prize in Spanish second-tier football. According to the club's official announcement after the match, Funes emphasized in the dressing room and at the press conference the importance of unity, young players and the support of the fans, stressing that everyone together had "pushed" so the club could once again enjoy Málaga in the First Division. In the same announcement, he also highlighted the symbolism of players from the club's own development system, whom he called the foundation of the project now entering a new phase. This aspect is important because the victory did not come only through individual inspiration, but through a model in which young players and leaders of play from the existing structure were given responsibility in decisive matches. El País especially emphasized in its report that Málaga played in Almería with a pronounced reliance on players from its own academy, which gave the return to LaLiga an additional identity dimension.
Málaga eliminated Las Palmas in the playoffs before the final, while Almería reached the final duel after eliminating Castellón, which made the Andalusian final the last obstacle for the third place in the elite. Cadena SER reported that Málaga will join Deportivo de La Coruña and Racing de Santander in LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 as the promoted clubs from the second tier. Such an outcome is especially powerful for Málaga, which after relegation from the top tier in the 2017/18 season went through a long and unstable path. El País recalls that the club in the meantime survived one of the most difficult stages in its recent history, including a fall to the third tier and a period under judicial administration from 2020. For that reason, the 2026 return has a broader meaning than a sporting result: it marks an exit from a long cycle of crisis and opens a new chapter for a club that earlier in this century had a recognizable place in Spanish and European football.
Almería was left without reward despite a better starting position
For UD Almería, the defeat is especially difficult because the team entered the second leg with the advantage of home field and a better placement from the regular season. LaLiga stated in the official match profile that there were 17,825 spectators at the stadium, and AS reported before the match that the start was postponed by half an hour after an incident involving the visiting team's bus. Despite that disruption and the heightened atmosphere around the match, the closing stages themselves remained competitively within the framework of great pressure, in which Almería had enough attempts to come back, but not the final precision. Baptistão's goal extended hope, but the home side did not manage to take advantage of the fact that one more goal would have returned it to play for an overall more favorable outcome. Rubi's team finished the season in third place in the regular part, but the playoffs once again showed that the standings before the final eliminations do not guarantee promotion.
From a sporting point of view, Almería can analyze the match through two opposing impressions. On one hand, the home side was statistically close to Málaga in possession, number of shots and number of corners, and the final ten minutes or so showed that the team had the energy to apply pressure. On the other hand, Málaga was more concrete in the most important period of the second half, more aggressive in transition forward and calmer in finishing moves. It was precisely that difference between creating pressure and converting pressure into a result that decided the match. For Almería, the continuation in the second tier follows, with the need to turn a season in which it reached the playoff final into a foundation for a new attempt to return to LaLiga. For Málaga, the same match remains the evening on which it ended an eight-year wait and reopened the door to the highest level of Spanish football.
The broader significance of Málaga's return to the Spanish elite
Málaga's return to LaLiga EA Sports has both a competitive and an economic dimension. Entry into the highest tier brings significantly greater exposure, a different commercial framework and matches against leading Spanish clubs, but also the need for quick adjustments in the squad, financial planning and team infrastructure. According to Málaga's official report, this is the club's fourteenth return to the First Division and the third under the current denomination Málaga CF, confirming that the club has a long history of rises and falls in Spanish professional football. After the match, Funes emphasized the present and future of the project, while the club report placed special emphasis on the players who carried the key moments of the playoffs. This suggests that the coming period will be a balance between preserving the team's identity and the need to compete at a higher level.
For LaLiga, Málaga's return means the return of a club from a large Andalusian urban center and a market with a recognizable fan base. For LaLiga Hypermotion, the Almería - Málaga final was an example of how dramatic the closing stages of the second tier can be when entry into the elite is decided over two matches and when one mistake in the second half changes an entire season. Málaga survived the pressure in Almería, struck in the key period and withstood a long stoppage time. Almería remained one step from the goal, with the feeling that its advantage from the regular season and home field slipped away in less than ten minutes of the second half. The final result, 1:2 in the second leg and 2:1 on aggregate for Málaga, therefore enters the club's history as the evening of return, and the LaLiga Hypermotion season as a finale decided by composure in front of goal.
Sources:
- LaLiga – official match report for UD Almería - Málaga CF, result, scorers, stadium, referees, attendance and match statistics (link)
- Málaga CF – official club chronicle of the second leg of the playoff final and the return to the First Division (link)
- Málaga CF – official announcement with statements from coach Juanfran Funes after securing qualification for LaLiga EA Sports (link)
- Cadena SER – report on the Almería 1:2 Málaga match, context of the first match, the return after eight years and the promoted clubs (link)
- AS – preview of the second leg with an explanation of Almería's advantage from better placement, match time and postponement of the start of the match (link)
- El País – analysis of Málaga's return to the highest tier, the context of the club crisis and the playoff finale in Almería (link)