On-loan Tianjin TEDA striker Brown Ideye was in action for 82 minutes before watching his Spanish side Malaga concede a stoppage time goal against Levante on Thursday night.
Ghanaian star Emmanuel Boateng’s 93rd minute goal handed hosts Levante a 1-0 win and confirmed the relegation of Malaga after ten successive seasons in the La Liga with five games left to play.
Malaga have had an awful 2017/18 campaign, winning just four out of their 33 league games and not even the January loan signing of Ideye who was substituted in the 83rd minute on Thursday, with the scores still at 0-0 could help spark a revival for the club.
Thursday’s loss is also significant in the sense that it handed Levante some sort of vengeance following relegation in 2015/16 which was confirmed by a loss to Malaga at the La Rosaleda. The victory also takes them seven points clear of the relegation zone.
In Seville, UD Las Palmas had their relegation woes compounded when they suffered a last gasp defeat in the hands of Real Betis, with Oghenekaro Etebo and Imoh Ezekiel in action for the Canaria side.
Junior Firpo struck in the 94th minute to hand Betis a 1-0 win – their sixth in a row in the league – leaving Las Palmas on the brink of relegation from the Liga with five games left.
Etebo played for full ninety minutes while his compatriot Ezekiel came on as an 83rd minute substitute but their contributions were not enough to stop their side’s late capitulation.
Las Palmas are second from bottom and need to win their final five matches to avoid the drop – a draw in any of the games will confirm their relegation.
