Aston Villa emerged victorious in a closely fought 3-2 victory over Malaga at Villa Park, with striker Christian Benteke scoring a first-half brace.
Paul Lamberts side scored three times in the first half with a headed goal from Ron Vlaar that was met either side of a Christian Benteke brace, before Jores Okore scored an own goal on his home debut.
Last seasons Champions League semi-finalists pulled another back on the hour mark with a curled strike from Sergi Darder but Bernd Schusters side couldnt find an equaliser and ended their pre-season preparations with a second defeat of the summer.
The home side came into the fixture off the back of three consecutive victories, handing new signings Okore and Aleksandar Tonev starts from the off having missed the majority of pre-season through injury, with Benteke leading the line in attack.
Malaga appeared to match their counterparts with a similar formation, travelling to Villa Park with the familiar face of Roque Santa Cruz up front with Bartolomiej Pawlowski and Fabrice Olinga providing width on either side.
Benteke received a generous round of applause on his first home game since signing a new contract, but it was right winger Pawlowski who came closest inside ten minutes, firing a fierce shot from distance that was inches away from the bar.
Malaga were gifted a chance when a skewed clearance from Okore allowed Santa Cruz time for a shot but were punished minutes later when Benteke put Villa ahead; the striker showing strength inside the area to brush off two defenders and force a shot on goal.
Villa doubled their lead just moments after their 19th-minute applause for former captain Stillian Petrov had finished, when a Matt Lowton corner met a towering leap from current captain Vlaar to power home with an unmarked header.
The home side were enjoying themselves in attack and continued the pressure by forcing a penalty just before the half-hour mark. A through-ball from Tonev was weighted perfectly for Benteke who readily dispatched from twelve-yards out after he was brought down by Marcos Angeleri.
But with minutes remaining in the first half Malaga pulled one back when a cross into the box from Pawlowski found the net off Okore. His delivery from the right-hand side hit the unsuspecting Denmark international to land him with an own-goal on his home debut.
Malaga had found their rhythm early on in the second half and capitalized with a stunning curled effort from Darder. The midfielder was picked out on the edge of the box by Olinga and found the top-right corner of the net to reduce the deficit to just one goal.
Despite an improved performance from Schusters side in the second half, Villa held on to grasp victory on the final game of their pre-season and will now travel to Arsenal on opening day of the league campaign with an unbeaten run.
Via: Aston Villa 3-2 Malaga: Benteke on form in entertaining home victory
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