Elche missed the chance to climb off the bottom of La Liga as Malaga came from behind to record a 2-1 victory.
Malaga started the brighter of the two sides, and they threatened early on in the game when Duda created space to test Przemyslaw Tyton with a powerful low strike.
Tyton would be kept busy as Malaga dominated for long spells, and the Polish goalkeeper came to his side's rescue again to keep out Ricardo Horta's curling effort.
However, the lead belonged to Elche in first-half stoppage time when David Lomban headed home from Edu Albacar's free kick.
Malaga were back on level terms just four minutes into the second half thanks to Ignacio Camacho, who finished calmly from close range after being picked out by Samuel Castillejo.
Despite the setback, Elche started to look more dangerous going forward, but Carlos Kameni prevented the hosts from regaining the lead by tipping Aaron Niguez's header over.
However, it was Malaga who secured all three points with 12 minutes remaining when Luis Alberto sprinted past a couple of challenges on the edge of the box before firing the winner in off the post.
Callum Mulvihill
