Atletico Madrid sinks Yellow Submarines
Villarreal, Spain (Sports Network) - Villarreal, which finished second in La Liga just four years ago, was relegated with a 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid on the final day of the season Sunday at El Madrigal.
Falcao scored the lone goal in the 88th minute for Atletico, the recent Europa League winner, and coupled with wins from Rayo Vallecano and Real Zaragoza, it was enough to send the Yellow Submarines down.
Villarreal entered the final day of the season one point above the relegation zone, and could have survived with a loss. But Vallecano and Zaragoza both won and Atletico sealed Villarreal's drop with Falcao's 24th goal of the season.
The Yellow Submarines finished 18th, just one point behind Granada and safety. Atletico finished fifth, two points out of a Champions League place.
Real Madrid, 4, Mallorca 1
Madrid, Spain - Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 46th goal of the season as Real Madrid defeated Mallorca, 4-1, on Sunday at the Bernabeu to reach a record 100 points in La Liga this season.
Real Madrid previously clinched the title, and Ronaldo opened the scoring with less than 20 minutes gone, Karim Benzema scored his 21st goal of the season in the 23rd minute, and Mesut Ozil added a second-half brace.
Madrid finished with 100 of a possible 114 points, breaking the old record set by Barcelona of 99 points. Real lost just twice this season, and finished nine points ahead of second-place Barcelona.
Gonzalo Castro scored for Mallorca, which had its four-game win streak snapped as it finished the season eighth.
Malaga 1, Sporting Gijon 0
Malaga, Spain - Rondon scored in the 48th minute and Malaga clinched Champions League play next season and sealed relegation for Sporting Gijon with a 1-0 win at the Estadio La Rosaleda on Sunday in La Liga.
Malaga finished fourth, two points ahead of Atletico Madrid to get the last of four Champions League spots from Spain. Gijon had a slim chance to avoid going down on the final day of the season, but the loss ended any hopes.
Rayo Vallecano 1, Granada 0
Madrid, Spain - Raul Tamudo scored in stoppage time as Rayo Vallecano avoided relegation with a 1-0 win over Granada, 1-0, at the Teresa Rivero on the final day of the La Liga season.
Vallecano needed a win to avoid the drop, and Tamudo provided the lone goal as time was winding down. Vallecano jumped to 15th with its first win in its last five matches. Granada finished 17th, one point above the drop.
Real Zaragoza 2, Getafe 0
Getafe, Spain - Apono and Helder Postiga scored as Real Zaragoza downed eight- man Getafe 2-0 on Sunday at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez to avoid relegation in La Liga.
Sarabia and Miguel Torres Gomez were sent off inside the hour for Getafe and a penalty from Apono in the 58th opened the scoring. Postiga added a second in stoppage time for Zaragoza, which finished 16th. Getafe finished 13th.
Levante 3, Athletic Bilbao 0
Valencia, Spain - Abdelkader Ghezzal scored a brace as Levante downed Athletic Bilbao, 3-0, on Sunday at the Ciutat de Valencia to finish sixth in La Liga to secure Europa League play next season.
Bilbao, which lost the Europa League final this season, finished 10th and will need a win over Barcelona in King's Cup final to return to the competition.
Espanyol 1, Sevilla 1
Barcelona, Spain - Philippe Coutinho scored in the 78th minute as Espanyol was able to tie Sevilla, 1-1, on Sunday at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat on the last day La Liga season.
Espanyol finished 14th and just five points above the relegation zone. Sevilla finished ninth and missed European play.
Osasuna 4, Racing 2
Santander, Spain - Raul Garcia scored the match-winner as Osasuna beat Racing, 4-2, on Sunday at the Estadio El Sardinero to finish seventh in La Liga.
Osasuna will qualify for the Europa League if Barcelona downs Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup final. Relegated Racing finished 20th on just 27 points.
