Malaga forward Roque Santa Cruz believes that his side were unlucky to suffer defeat in Monday's 1-0 reverse at home to Real Sociedad.

Despite a number of opportunities at La Rosaleda, especially in the second period, Malaga were beaten by a 10th-minute strike from Carlos Vela.

"It never sits well with us when we lose a game, particularly when we could have taken advantage of a slow start and the goal opportunities we had in the first half," he told the club's official website.

"However I think we were unlucky, and the rival keeper was extremely fortunate to save a number of promising shots at goal. We lacked a bit of confidence when it came to goal chances, but I think on the whole we performed well.

"I hope we learn from this game and start every match now with more intensity from kick off, instead of later on in the game."

The result left Malaga in 17th spot in the table, just three points outside of the bottom three.