Bryan Zaragoza scored in the 13th minute of Malaga vs Espanyol, then spent the rest of the night explaining why his celebration set off boos at La Rosaleda. The Espanyol winger later apologised, but only after saying Malaga "never wanted" him and defending the reaction to his first goal of the season.

Zaragoza's explanation

The goal itself was direct enough. Zaragoza beat two defenders and finished with a low, powerful and accurate shot to the near post, a move that fit the game he had been having. It was his first goal of the season, and his first since 18 January, when Celta de Vigo beat Rayo Vallecano 3-0.

He had every reason to be emotional about it, and he was. Speaking to Estadio Deportivo, in comments translated from Spanish, Zaragoza said: "No message to the stands. I have affection and respect for Málaga, but I have never played here and I have been without finding the net for some time and if I score a goal, I am going to celebrate it. People have to understand me".

He went further in the same interview: "Here they have never wanted me, I have no reason not to celebrate the goal. I think they have made a mistake on their part. I do not understand the anger towards me because I have not done anything wrong, I celebrated it and that's it". That left little doubt about why he felt justified in the moment.

The apology after the noise

The later apology changed the tone. Zaragoza said, again to Estadio Deportivo in comments translated from Spanish: "If at La Rosaleda they believed it was a gesture for them, it is not and I apologise to them, I also do not want anyone to feel offended. It was a celebration for my son and my wife".

That is the part that will stick in Malaga. He was born in Malaga but has never played for the Malaga first team, so the crowd reaction had a local edge even before the goal went in.

The match itself ended 1-1, with Adrián Niño scoring in the 93rd minute for Malaga. Zaragoza was substituted in the 73rd minute, and the point left Espanyol 15th in La Liga after seven matches with 7 points, while Malaga stayed bottom after seven matches with 3 points.

The goal, the apology and the explanation all belong in the same story. Zaragoza has his first goal of the campaign, but the bigger memory from Malaga is still the reaction it drew at La Rosaleda.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →