Cadiz CF 0 - 2 Alaves: Joselu brace fires Alavés to victory

Alavés ended their two-game losing streak and extended Cádiz’s winless run to five matches in La Liga with an impressive 2-0 victory away from home. 

The two sides might have been tipped to play a cagey affair on paper, but it didn’t take long for the visitors to break the deadlock, as Joselu netted the opener in the sixth minute with a penalty following a foul from Tomás Alarcón. 

Even though neither side was able to entirely dominate proceedings, the visitors undoubtedly had the best chances, as the play of Joselu and Facundo Pellistri troubled the opposing defence, the Manchester United loanee generated arguably the best chance of the first half, but saw his effort was thwarted. The lack of ideas on Cádiz’s end was alarming, and ‘Los Pepineros’ finished the first half deservedly on top.

Cádiz started the second half with a more aggressive approach and the manager attempted to switch things up by sending Álex Fernández and Jens Jonsson into the pitch with the idea of providing a spark into his attack. 

The idea paid dividends right away, as Cádiz spent the first 15 minutes of the second half playing just outside the opposing goal and Alberto Perea was only inches away from equalising following a defensive mistake -- but Víctor Laguardia cleared the ball off the line when Fernando Pacheco looked to be beaten.

Alavés believed they had scored a second thanks to Édgar Méndez, but his goal was ruled out due to an offside. While both sides continued to trade scoring chances, with Álvaro Negredo attempting an overhead kick and Joselu failing to complete his brace after his close-range header went straight to Jeremías Ledesma, eventually the intensity of the game dropped off considerably. Cádiz saw far more of the ball and created more chances, but Alavés wrapped the game up in stoppage time when Joselu made it 2-0 after a glaring defensive error.

Cádiz may believe they deserved better luck in the game, especially considering how dangerous they looked in the opening 25 minutes of the second half. Ultimately, Alavés were rewarded for their stout defense and their ruthlessness in front of goal.