Spanish club Malaga fires Gonzalez after 4th straight loss

By AP
Published

MADRID (AP) Malaga picked former player Jose Gonzalez on Saturday to replace fired coach Michel Gonzalez, who was let go after the team's fourth straight loss in the Spanish league.

The moves came a day after a 1-0 loss at Getafe that kept Malaga 19th in the 20-team standings.

Malaga has lost every game since early December, earning only 11 points from 19 league matches.

Jose Gonzalez helped Granada escape relegation in 2016 after taking over the team in last place with 13 rounds to go. He coached in Chinese football last season.

Michel Gonzalez had been in charge since last season, when he helped the club from southern Spain move away from the bottom of the standings and finish near mid-table.

''Since the beginning of the season the team wasn't able to put together a series of good results to be able to leave the relegation zone so a shakeup was needed to help the team react,'' Malaga said.

Malaga's next match is on Jan. 22 at Eibar.

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