AP, Barcelona :
Malaga held on to beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 to kick off the Spanish league on Saturday after new coach Javi Gracia’s winning debut was almost spoiled by two of his players earning red cards in a wild finale.
Gracia’s first victory with Malaga was followed by positive starts for Valencia manager Nuno Espirito Santo, Espanyol’s former player-turned-manager Sergio Gonzalez and Joaquin Caparros at Granada.
A 10-man Valencia salvaged a 1-1 draw at Sevilla with a late goal, while Sergio Garcia scored in stoppage time as a 10-man Espanyol drew 1-1 at Almeria. Granada managed to come from behind to beat visiting Deportivo La Coruna 2-1.
Malaga scored in the 34th minute when Luis Alberto converted the rebound from his own penalty after goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz blocked his spot kick.
The season opener was far from spectacular, but Malaga’s balanced defense did well to neutralize Bilbao’s talented set of attacking players.
“We weren’t brilliant, just efficient,” said Gracia, who took over Malaga after his Osasuna was relegated last season.
“We didn’t have possession of the ball, it was theirs. But I think that through 96 minutes we played defense well. We played the last minutes in disadvantage and we kept fighting.”
Roque Santa Cruz earned the penalty to set up Alberto’s winner by poaching Carlos Gurpegui’s backpass and drawing a foul from Iraizoz in the area.
