Teenager Rios Rodri scored a stoppage-time winner as 10-man Sevilla sealed fourth place and Champions League qualification with a last-gasp 3-2 win at Almeria on Saturday to leave Real Mallorca in tears.
Mallorca were seconds away from sealing fourth thanks to a 2-0 home win over Espanyol, but 19-year-old Rodri, a product of the Sevilla youth system, scored with virtually the last kick of the game in a goal worth millions to his side.
Sevilla had been reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Alvaro Negredo on 64 minutes for abusing the linesman and were clinging on to their 2-1 lead.
Almeria, who had nothing to play for, then equalized at through Juanma Ortiz’s brilliant 78th-minute strike and had chances to go ahead in a frantic closing 10 minutes.
Substitute Rodri then popped up with the biggest goal of his career to spark huge celebrations.
Sevilla now go into Wednesday’s Kings Cup final against Atletico Madrid in high spirits, although Negredo will be suspended.
Fourth place also enhances Sevilla caretaker coach Antonio Alvarez’s chances of getting the job on a permanent basis having taken over from Manolo Jimenez in March.
For Mallorca it was a bitter late pill to swallow, although their fifth place is their highest finish since 2001 and they have the Europa League to look forward to next season after a fantastic campaign.
Getafe recorded their highest ever finish in La Liga sealing sixth place and European qualification with a 3-0 win at Europa League champions Atletico Madrid.
Foward Roberto Soldado scored a brace in each half to help Getafe overcome their local rivals and qualify for the Europa League.
Villarreal needed Getafe to drop points to stand any chance of pipping their rivals, but could only draw 3-3 at Real Zaragoza to finish two points behind.
Getafe escaped relegation on the final day of last season, so this result is a testament to the fine work of highly-rated coach Michel. It will be their second venture in Europe following a UEFA Cup bow in 2008 when they reached the quarter-finals.
Atletico, who fielded a second-string side against Getafe, are down in ninth, but the Europa League winners are still in with a chance of a cup double when they take on Sevilla in the Kings Cup final.
For Villarreal, league runners-up in 2008, it was a disappointing season as they failed to come to terms with the summer departure of coach Manuel Pellegrini to Real Madrid.
Athletic Bilbao rounded off their season with a 2-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna to finish eighth, their best finish in La Liga since 2004 when they were fifth.
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
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