Sevilla missed the chance to draw level on points with crisis club Real Madrid in the race for Champions League qualification after going down 1-0 at lowly Alaves in la Liga on Sunday.

Manu Garcia’s 52nd minute strike pulled Alaves out of the relegation zone and left Sevilla sixth on 29 points, three behind fourth-placed Real.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane has come under renewed fire just days after he signed a new contract until 2020 thanks to Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Villarreal.

That loss, Villarreal’s first ever win at the Bernabeu, left the La Liga champions 16 points behind league leaders Barcelona ahead of the Catalans’ trip to Real Sociedad later on Sunday.

The defeat for Sevilla extends Vincenzo Montella’s losing start in La Liga, with the Italian guiding them to two straight league losses since replacing cancer-stricken Eduardo Berizzo, following last week’s 5-3 home Seville derby defeat to Betis.