Nigeria striker, Brown Ideye, was voted Malaga Man of the Match in their 2-1 home defeat to Valencia on Saturday.

Malaga made the announcement on their official website on Monday after the club fans chose the Tianjin Teda on-loan striker as their best player for the game.

Ideye opened his goals account for struggling Malaga when he gave them the lead in the 27th minute.

Former Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin drew Valencia level on 80 minutes before Daniel Parejo scored the winner from the penalty spot with five minutes remaining in the game.

Prior to Parejo’s goal, Ignasi Miquel was sent off for Malaga after receiving a straight red card.

The defeat left Malaga bottom of the table on 13 points, seven points away from safety.

“It’s very upsetting to lose a match like this. It’s very difficult, as the team isn’t in a situation to be able to lose a match in this way,” Ideye told the media in Spain.

“On the one hand I’m happy, but on the other, sad. It’s positive for me to have scored my first goal for my team, but unfortunately we were defeated.”

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner however expressed confidence that Malaga can still escape relegation.

He added: “I say to the fans that we’ll never give up and hope they will continue supporting us and spurring us on. I understand that these are tough times for us, but I think everything will get better. There are 15 matches remaining and it’s possible to move up.”

Source:https://www.completesportsnigeria.com/ideye-voted-malaga-mvp-vs-valencia-upset-defeat/