MADRID, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Villarreal assured themselves of the final European spot in La Liga on the last day of the competition on Sunday.
Unai Emery's side won 2-0 away to FC Barcelona to qualify for the UEFA Conference League thanks to Alfonso Pedraza, who slotted home after good work from Dani Parejo in the 41st minute.
Barca were disappointing in a game where they only had the pride to play for, and Moi Gomez made it 2-0 in the second half after a dreadful mistake from Adama Traore.
Villarreal's win meant whatever Athletic Bilbao's result in Sevilla was, it wouldn't be good enough, and the Basque side lost 1-0 to a solitary Rafa Mir goal in the second half.
Both sides had goals ruled out and both hit the post, but it was Sevilla who ended the campaign on a high note, while Athletic finish the season eighth in the table.
Sevilla's win wasn't enough to lift them above Atletico Madrid into third place, as Atletico won 2-1 away to Real Sociedad. Rodrigo de Paul and Angel Correa scored second-half goals to put Atletico 2-0 up before Jon Guridi netted a consolation for the home side deep into injury-time.
Granada were relegated on a dramatic final day after a 0-0 draw at home to Espanyol on what will be a painful day for 40-year-old striker Jorge Molina, who missed a penalty with 18 minutes left to play.
A win for Granada would have relegated Cadiz, who avoided relegation with a tense 1-0 win away to already-relegated Alaves.
Choco Lozano's 76th-minute goal, just two minutes after Molina's missed penalty in Granada, gave Cadiz three vital points to assure them of a third consecutive season in the elite.
Mallorca won 2-0 away to Osasuna to avoid the drop with second-half goals from Angel Rodriquez and Clement Grenier giving them the points they needed for coach Javier Aguirre to complete an important turnaround since replacing Luis Garcia in the dugout.
In the only game on Sunday with nothing at stake, two late goals from Kike Perez saw Elche end their season with a 3-1 win at home to Getafe.
Enes Unal had put the visitors ahead in the 33rd minute, but Lucas Olaza leveled just four minutes later, and Perez's two goals in the last six minutes allowed Elche coach Francisco Rodriguez to celebrate his new contract in style.
Two matches were played on Friday night, with league champions Real Madrid and cup winners Real Betis playing out a 0-0 draw which very much had an end of season feel to it.
Levante said 'adios' to La Liga after their relegation to the second division with their heads held high following a 4-2 win away to Rayo Vallecano, with Gonzalo Melero scoring twice, along with Roger Marti and Coke.
Finally, Valencia ended a disappointing season with a 2-0 win at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday in a game which was played in front of nearly empty stands as the Valencia supporters protested against the club owner, Peter Lim. ■
