Madrid, Jan 20 (AP) Cadiz's winless run was extended to 17 games when it lost to Alaves 1-0 in the Spanish league on Friday.

One of Cadiz's only two victories all season came in its first league match against Alaves but although the third-from-bottom club matched the home side for spells, it rarely looked like repeating that victory.

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Luis Rioja scored from the penalty spot six minutes into the second half. Ivan Alejo was adjudged to have tripped Kike Garcia and Rioja sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.

The winger's second goal in three games lifted Alaves into 12th spot in La Liga, equal on points with Rayo Vallecano.

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Cadiz, meanwhile, remained third to last. Pressure was mounting on coach Sergio González, who has seen his team earn no points in 2024 so far.

"We weren't bad until the penalty," Cadiz goalkeeper Conan Ledesma told broadcaster DAZN. “But from there on it was all uphill.”

"We do not deserve this. Cádiz and its people do not deserve this. We must apologize to people, tell them that two years ago we were in a similar situation and we were able to reverse it.

"Of course we trust Sergio, he is our coach. Just like we trusted him when he arrived. There are lots of games still to play. We need people to trust us, too.”

Girona topped the league, a point ahead of Real Madrid, which has a game in hand. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)