Sevilla loses again under new coach Montella

Sevilla’s winless streak reached five straight rounds after losing at Alaves 1-0 in the Spanish league yesterday.

Manu Garcia scored Alaves’ winner in the 52nd minute when the midfielder controlled a pass after a poorly cleared corner kick and struck the ball into the far side of the net. It was Sevilla’s second consecutive loss in the league under Vincenzo Montella, the Italian coach who replaced the fired Eduardo Berizzo late last month.

The team has not improved under the former AC Milan manager, other than advancing to the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.

Sevilla was left in sixth place after Villarreal moved ahead in the standings on Saturday.

Sevilla’s best chance to score at Alaves came in the 82nd when Manuel “Nolito” Agudo fired wide from close range.

While Sevilla continued to struggle despite the coaching change, Alaves won its fourth match in six rounds since the arrival of manager Abelardo Fernandez in early

Yesterday Levante-Celta Vigo .......................... 0-1 Alaves-Sevilla .................................. 1-0 Espanyol-Ath Bilbao ........................ 1-1 Real Sociedad-Barcelona ................. 2-4

Standings

P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 19 16 3 0 52 9 51 Atl. Madrid 19 12 6 1 28 8 42 Valencia 19 12 4 3 40 19 40 Real Madrid 18 9 5 4 32 17 32 Villarreal 19 9 4 6 26 21 31 Sevilla 19 9 2 8 23 28 29 Eibar 19 8 3 8 24 31 27 Getafe 19 7 5 7 23 18 26 Girona 19 7 5 7 28 28 26 Celta Vigo 19 7 4 8 33 27 25 Ath Bilbao 19 6 7 6 21 20 25 Leganes 17 7 3 7 13 14 24 Betis 18 7 3 8 30 34 24 Espanyol 19 6 6 7 16 22 24 Real Sociedad 19 6 5 8 33 34 23 Levante 19 3 9 7 15 26 18 Alaves 19 6 0 13 14 27 18 Dep. La Coruna19 4 4 11 21 37 16 Malaga 19 3 2 14 13 33 11 Las Palmas 19 3 2 14 14 46 11

Alaves moved out of the relegation zone, pushing Deportivo La Coruna into the bottom three of the 20-team league.