Tenerife grab vital away point at Malaga

Tenerife picked up only their third away point of the season with an 85th minute penalty from Alejandro Alfaro salvaging a 1-1 draw at La Liga relegation rivals Malaga on Saturday.

Antonio Apono had headed Malaga into a 66th-minute lead but Tenerife, the only team yet to win away this season, levelled with Alfaro’s late penalty to move above above Valladolid into 18th spot, one point from safety.

Malaga, challenging for the Champions League last season, are six points above Tenerife on 31 points.

Tenerife started brightly with Pablo Sicilia hitting the crossbar in the first half and Nino, top-scorer in the second division last season, had chances to add to the 10 goals he has bagged this campaign.

Malaga picked up after the interval hitting the post through Salvador Caicedo before a diving header from Apono put them in front on 66 minutes.

Nino won a penalty five minutes from time though with Malaga defender Patrick Mtiliga sent off for conceding it and Alfaro sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to secure a point.

Barcelona are at Real Mallorca later on Saturday looking to nudge Real Madrid, currently above them on goal difference, off the summit with a victory.

Mallorca have won 12 out of their 13 home games this season so will provide tough opposition for the reigning champions.

Barca and Real have a staggering 71 points each and coach Pep Guardiola praised his side for keeping pace with a Madrid rejuvenated by a summer spending spree in excess of 250 million euros.

“It is to the credit of the team that they are fighting with a team (Real) that have spent a lot of money to be where they are,” said Guardiola

“Money doesn’t guarantee titles but it helps.”

Real Madrid take on Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday aiming to maintain their impressive record of their rivals.

Atletico have not beaten Real in the league in over a decade and are in eighth after a turbulent season.

“Atletico are a complicated rival,” said Real boss Manuel Pellegrini. “They have very good players but in the league they are 34 points behind us and we need Atletico to go another year without winning at the Santiago Bernabeu.”

Third-placed Valencia are 18 points behind the top two but can pull further away from their rivals below with a win at Real Zaragoza later on Saturday.

Zaragoza are two points above the relegation zone and need to start winning their home matches to stay in the top flight.

“This is like a Champions League final for us,” said Zaragoza coach Jose Aurelio Gay.

“Valencia have a lot of quality especially on the counter attack and we have to stop their breaks otherwise we will suffer.”

Sevilla have fallen eight points behind Valencia and are at Villarreal on Sunday as new coach Antonio Alvarez, appointed until the end of the season, takes charge for the first time.

Alvarez worked as an assistant to Manolo Jimenez who was sacked on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw against bottom side Xerez.