Real Sociedad on Sunday fell to a 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid, but still sealed qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League after Villarreal were beaten 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano.
Imanol Alguacil’s Basque outfit finished fourth in La Liga despite defeat only thanks to Villarreal losing, too.
RCD Espanyol were relegated from the top flight after Valencia’s Samuel Lino struck a stoppage-time equalizer in a gripping 2-2 draw.
Photo: AFP
One other side will go down along with already-relegated Elche on the final day of the season, with Real Valladolid currently 18th, a point from safety, after they drew 0-0 at UD Almeria.
RC Celta de Vigo lost 1-0 at Cadiz and are 17th, a point from safety, along with Almeria.
“To get to this situation we have done many things wrong, but I think sincerely, from the most self-critical position personally and as a group, that we don’t deserve this in this way,” Espanyol midfielder Sergi Darder told Movistar. “Above all, we want to say sorry. We have such a big club badge that in many moments, we haven’t represented. I’m the first to be angry, but have no doubt we will be back.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Antoine Griezmann and Nahuel Molina struck for Atletico in their win over Real Sociedad, who struggled to create much of note, perhaps aware of Villarreal’s struggles.
Eventually Alexander Sorloth pulled one back for the visitors at the Metropolitano to give them something to celebrate as they achieved their European goal.
“I would have liked to be able to celebrate qualifying another way, but we have had a great season and are very happy,” Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal told Movistar. “We have to celebrate, the fans should enjoy it, and next Sunday we can have a party at home, a celebration — we’ll do all we can to win that game and end things well.”
Victory leaves Atletico third, a point behind Real Madrid.
Villarreal will play in the UEFA Europa League next season, along with Real Betis Balompie, sixth, who beat Girona 2-1.
CA Osasuna, who fell to a late 2-1 defeat by Getafe which took the Madrid side two points clear of the relegation zone, are seventh and currently in line to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League.
However, Athletic Bilbao, Girona, Rayo and Sevilla remain in contention for the spot.
La Liga champions Barcelona enjoyed a series of emotional goodbyes in their final match at the Camp Nou before the stadium is rebuilt, thrashing RCD Mallorca 3-0.
Captain Sergio Busquets and defender Jordi Alba also played at home for the last time, in the club’s penultimate league match of the season, and were awarded warm farewells by the sell-out crowd.
Ansu Fati struck twice in the first half and Gavi added one after the break as the Catalans triumphed in style.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen earned his 26th clean sheet of the season, equaling the all-time record in the division set by RC Deportivo de La Coruna’s Francisco Liano in the 1993-1994 campaign.
The only bad news for Barcelona came when defender Alejandro Balde was taken off injured in the first half — he will be out for at least six weeks and miss Spain’s UEFA Nations League games next month.
Camp Nou, inaugurated in September 1957, has been one of soccer’s most iconic stadiums since then.
Alba departed in tears when he was substituted in the final stages with the crowd chanting his name, while Busquets followed and was given an ovation of his own.
The duo could yet appear in Barcelona’s final game of the season at Celta next weekend, but for nearly 90,000 supporters, it was the end of an era.
Busquets has won La Liga nine times and the Champions League on three occasions, making over 700 appearances for the club.
Alba departs with six La Liga trophies and one Champions League triumph among other silverware.
The duo both gave speeches on the pitch after the game.
“Since I was little I’ve dreamed of playing a game in this stadium that we’re saying goodbye to temporarily,” Busquets said. “We’re already the best club in the world, with the best players, and now we’ll have a stadium on that level.”
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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