Malaga CF is back in Spain’s top flight for the first time in eight years. They punched their ticket Saturday with a 2-1 win over Almeria in the second leg of the promotion playoff final, and the night got started long before kickoff with rocks flying at the visiting team bus.
Goals from Chupe and Larrubia did the job after the first leg ended 0-0. Almeria, who also wanted back into La Liga, will have to wait at least another season in the second division.
The Long Road Back
Malaga fell out of the first division after the 2017-18 season. Things got ugly after that. They slipped all the way down to Segunda Division B, the third tier, before slowly climbing back. This promotion closes out a rebuild that took longer than anyone in Andalusia wanted it to.
The club has history. They were in the Champions League quarterfinals as recently as 2013, pushed around by Real Madrid in that controversial second leg but still a legit European side. Then came the ownership chaos, the financial restrictions, the slide. For a fanbase that packed La Rosaleda even in the third division, this return feels earned.
What Comes Next
The hard part isn’t over. Malaga will get their 2025-26 La Liga schedule in the coming days, and then the real work starts. They need to build a roster that can survive in the first division, which is a totally different animal than the second tier. The club hasn’t confirmed any signings yet, but expect them to be busy this summer.
For Almeria, it’s back to the drawing board. They had their shot at home with the second leg crowd behind them, but Malaga held firm. The bus incident before the game added an extra layer of tension, but the visitors didn’t let it rattle them.
Malaga’s promotion is the kind of story Spanish football does well — a historic club clawing its way back after hitting rock bottom. Now they get to see if they can stay there.
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