MADRID, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Spanish La Liga club Sevilla sacked coach Marcelino Garcia on Monday after a run of games which has seen them slip from contenders for a place in Europe to below halfway in the league.

Sevilla lost 2-1 at home to Villarreal to take the club's run of games without a win to seven. Among those defeats is a painful 6-2 home defeat against Real Madrid.

Marcelino joined Sevilla during the summer to replace Gregory Manzano, but the former Racing Santander coach got off to a dreadful side when the club was knocked out of the Europa League and failed to make the group stage.

The coach has also been criticized for an overly conservative style of play and poor relations with several key players, such as Freddy Kanoute.

The club's decision means that Marcelino is the eighth coach to lose his job in Spain's top flight after just 21 games of the season.

Former Getafe coach Michel Gonzalez is the favorite to replace Marcelino at the club.