Sevilla loses to Alaves for second straight defeat to start Spanish league

MADRID — Sevilla couldn't end its early struggles, losing at promoted Alaves 4-3 for its second consecutive loss to start the Spanish league on Monday.

Sevilla also lost to Manchester City on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup final last week and was looking to turn things around against an opponent it hadn't lost to in nine straight league games.

But a pair of goals by Kike García five minutes apart midway through the second half secured Alaves the victory.

Back in the first division after a year in the second tier, Alaves also scored through Luis Rioja and Rubén Duarte in the first half.

Sevilla got on the board before halftime with an own-goal by Abdel Abqar and with Erik Lamela. Rafa Mir added the third deep into second-half stoppage time.

Sevilla hasn’t won in its last six league games going back to last season, with two draws and four losses. It also got off to a slow start last season and was near the relegation zone for a lengthy period.

Late Monday, Rayo Vallecano won at promoted Granada 2-0 to become one of the three teams to start with consecutive victories, along with Real Madrid and Valencia.

Álvaro García and Pathé Ciss scored second-half goals for the visitors, who extended their unbeaten streak against Granada to eight league matches.

The match was twice interrupted because of power outages.

Almeria, Sevilla and Granada are the three teams yet to earn points after two rounds.