Duda has scored coming off the bench earlier in the season and he did it once more off a free kick against Levante in the second half to give his side three points before the new year as Malaga would win 0-1 at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
With this result, Levante of course remains at the bottom of the table while the visitors move up into the 11th spot for the time being.
Malaga maintains possession in opening 45, but can't punish hosts
In a half that was dominated by the visitors, they maintained possession 58% of the time, there were very few chances on either side. There were some shouts for a penalty from Malaga in the first minute of action when Juanfran looked to have gotten a piece of Juan Carlos but the ref kept his whistle silent.
Malaga's first half-chance of the evening came in only ten minutes as the Levante goalkeeper, Diego Marino, had to punch a dangerous cross away before any of the opposition could get on the end of the delivery.
Five minutes into the match and Charles tried an audacious bicycle kick. However, his effort was very tame and it fell straight into the hands of 25-year-old goalkeeper.
Nordin Amrabat broke with pace, seven minutes later, and found some space into the eighteen yard box where he should have fired a shot on target. However, he tried to square a ball back towards the middle only to see the pass get cleared to safety.
Right on the half hour, it was Levante who had their best chance all night. A cross was sent into the area by Roberto Camarasa and found the head of David Navarro. His header though was hit well over the top of the crossbar.
The best chance of the half came from Duje Cop as he received the ball inside the 18, let the ball run a little before turning and firing his shot mere inches away from Marino's left post.
Halftime: Levante 0-0 Malaga
Six minutes after the halftime interval, it would be Charles again who had a weak shot saved. This time, he tried to chip Marino but failed tremendously in the end.
Levante's Camarasa had a fantastic opportunity to break the deadlock in the 62nd minute as he saw his long range blast get stopped excellently by a full-stretched Chris Kameni. A Malaga break followed the ensuing corner and Amrabat played a pass to Arthur Boka but he did not get a clean shot away.
This second half was miles more entertaining as both sides were taking chances up in the final third of the pitch. Off of a corner though with 20 minutes remaining, Roger hit a header downwards towards the near post but Kameni stopped the ball from getting behind him once more.
Duda's free kick clinches three points
Having only been in the match for a mere five minutes, it was Sergio Barbosa, also known as Duda, who would stand over a dangerous free kick in the 78th minute. He hit his effort low, underneath the jumping wall and into the bottom right hand corner.
This was a hard loss for Levante as it felt like a fairly even match. Unfortunately, one little mistake cost them a point this time and will have to work even hard to remain in the top flight of Spanish football.