Fulham saw a goal slip away in the closing stages of regulation time
Published 13 August 2026
Fulham’s pre-season clash with Malaga concluded in extraordinary circumstances on Wednesday, with the Spanish outfit scoring a penalty into an unguarded goal as Alvaro Arbeloa’s squad made their way off the field.
Malaga levelled matters in the dying seconds of normal play when defender Calvin Bassey was deemed to have handled the ball, allowing Eneko Jauregi to step up and slot home from twelve yards to restore parity at 2-2.
However, the drama had only just begun.
Former Real Madrid manager Arbeloa received his marching orders for apparent protests towards the referee at the final whistle, yet he proceeded straight down the tunnel alongside his players, who were under the impression that proceedings had concluded.
Yet La Liga outfit Malaga had anticipated a penalty shootout to determine the victor of the Costa del Sol Trophy, and stayed on the playing surface prepared to settle the contest.
With spectators anticipating a shootout, forward Jauregi positioned the ball on the penalty spot and dispatched it into the empty net before marking the occasion with his colleagues in front of the home faithful at Malaga’s Estadio La Rosaleda venue in southern Spain.
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Fulham friendly concludes with extraordinary penalty shootout
Fulham maintain both outfits had mutually agreed the fixture would conclude without a shootout should it finish level.
According to a post on X, Fulham confirmed that before the match, both teams agreed that there would not be a penalty shootout in the event of a draw.
In an account of events published on Malaga’s official website, the La Liga club reported that although a penalty shootout had been arranged, Fulham departed the field, maintaining that a shootout had not formed part of the contractual agreement.
Fulham round off their pre-season schedule with a fixture against Stuttgart on Saturday.
Their opening encounter of the 2026-27 Premier League campaign begins against Chelsea at Craven Cottage at 20:00 BST on Monday, 24 August.