The penultimate round of matches in La Liga resolved who ends the campaign in fourth place, who takes the final two European places and who joins Las Palmas and Valladolid
MADRID — The penultimate round of matches in La Liga resolved who ends the
campaign in fourth place, who takes the final two European places and who joins
Las Palmas and Valladolid in relegation to the second division to be decided on
the last day of the season.
Athletic Bilbao ensured fourth place and qualification
for next season's Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia with a 1-0 win away to
Valencia.
Alex Berenguer's stunning curling shot 19 minutes from
time gave Athletic a deserved win while also ending Valencia's slim changes of
qualifying for Europe, reports Xinhua.
Athletic confirmed fourth place on head-to-head goal
difference over Villarreal, even though Villarreal gatecrashed FC Barcelona's
La Liga celebrations with a 3-2 win in Montjuic.
Ayoze Perez put Villarreal ahead in the fourth minute,
and although Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez turned the score around before
halftime, Santi Comesana equalized five minutes after the break, with Tajon
Buchanan netting the winner for the visitors 10 minutes from time.
Atletico Madrid sealed third place with a 4-1 at home to
a Real Betis side focused on the UEFA Conference League final, with two goals
from Julian Alvarez, one from Robin le Normand and a late goal from Angel
Correa in what is probably his last home game for the club.
Sevilla and Real Madrid had only pride to play for, with
a much-changed Real Madrid travelling to the south of Spain with one eye on the
FIFA Club World Cup in June.
Madrid's task was made easier after 12 minutes when
Sevilla defender Loric Bade was sent off for pulling back Kylian Mbappe when he
was the last defender.
Isaac Romero was then sent off for a bad challenge on
Aurelien Tchouameni to leave Sevilla with nine men in the 48th minute, but it
wasn't until the 75th minute that Mbappe finally broke the deadlock, with Jude
Bellingham adding a second three minutes from time.
Celta Vigo is still in pole position for the last Europa
League spot despite a 2-1 defeat at home to Rayo Vallecano, with Izi Palazon
and Jorge de Frutos overturning Marcos Alonso's early penalty for the home
side.
Rayo is a point behind Celta going into the last game of
the season, as is Osasuna, who won 2-0 at home to Espanyol thanks to Ante
Budimir's 21st goal of the season and a late finish from Raul Garcia.
Espanyol's defeat means the side from Barcelona will duel
it out with Leganes in the last game of the season to avoid relegation after
Leganes won 1-0 away to Las Palmas thanks to Dani Raba's early header.
A win at home to Las Palmas will keep Espanyol up, while
Leganes has to win at home to bottom of the table Valladolid and hope Espanyol
doesn't win.
Alaves and Getafe are both safe from the drop after Kike
Garcia's 13th goal of the season gave Alaves a 1-0 win in Valladolid, while
second half goals from Mauro Arambarri and Christiantus Uche ended Getafe's
six-match losing streak with a 2-1 win in Mallorca.
Finally, Imanol Alguacil's last home game as Real
Sociedad coach after six years in charge ended with a 3-2 win at home to
Girona.
