The penultimate round of the season in LaLiga saw the top three in fine form, some other outstanding matters wrapped up, and set us up for what’s going to be a dramatic final day at the bottom of the table.
By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert
Barça sign off with a win at Camp Nou
Barcelona bade farewell to the old Camp Nou on Sunday night and also to two of their most emblematic players from recent times as Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba said goodbye to the fans in the club’s final home game of the season.
And amid a special atmosphere at the famous stadium, Barça got off to the perfect start as Robert Lewandowski flicked the ball through to Gavi and he squared for Ansu Fati to open the scoring inside a minute against Mallorca.
The visitors then had Amath Ndiaye sent off after 14 minutes for a dangerous challenge on Alejandro Balde, who went off injured, and Ansu made it 2-0 to the champions midway through the half when he slid a low finish under Dominik Greif after Lewandowski had flicked the ball through to him at the back post from a Frenkie de Jong pass.
Barça were dominant and twice hit the bar in the second half before Gavi hit a fierce drive into the corner with 20 minutes left to round off a big win for the Blaugrana.
Alba then went off in tears with 10 minutes left and Busquets followed a few minutes later. Both players received standing ovations from the Camp Nou faithful as they left the pitch and the pair were presented with special plaques by president Joan Laporta after the match. They were then thrown into the air by their team-mates.
“The hardest thing is to choose the moment to say goodbye,” Xavi said. “They have been intelligent. We are losing the best pivot and the best left-back in Barça’s history. They are an example to the new generations.”
Xavi confirmed that neither Busquets nor Alba will play for Barça in their final LaLiga game away to Celta Vigo next weekend, but one man who will definitely feature at Balaídos is goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.
On Sunday, the German kept his 26th clean sheet in LaLiga this season to equal the record set by Deportivo La Coruña’s Francisco Liaño in 1993-94. One more will see Ter Stegen break the record outright and he said: “I’m very happy with the 26 clean sheets. Now I want to break the record.”
Barça will now move to the Olympic Stadium at Montjuic until 2025 as works start this summer to modernise Camp Nou and Xavi said: “It’s bittersweet because everything will be new and we won’t be back in through the ramp or the players’ tunnel, but the stadium will be better and now we have to adapt to Montjuic.”
Rodrygo at the double as Real Madrid stay second
There was no Karim Benzema or Vinícius Júnior for Real Madrid as both forwards missed the trip to Sevilla on Saturday with minor injuries, but Rodrygo stepped up with both goals to give Los Blancos a 2-1 win at the Sánchez Pizjuán.
Rafa Mir fired Sevilla into the lead inside three minutes after pouncing on a rebound in the Madrid area, but Rodrygo equalised with a fine free-kick just short of the half-hour mark, although the Brazilian was aided as the poor placement of the defensive wall allowed a big gap for him to find the corner with goalkeeper Bono wrongfooted.
Rodrygo later scored the winner after 69 minutes when he ran onto a long pass from Toni Kroos, turned Gonzalo Montiel inside out and beat Bono with a cool finish. The Brazilian attacker, on a hat-trick, was annoyed at being substituted with 81 minutes played. He now has 19 goals in 2022-23, which is 10 more than his previous best in a season for Real.
“He wanted to stay on the pitch to try to score a hat-trick,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said afterwards. “I told him we have different objectives: ‘you want to score and I don’t want to concede.’”
With little to play for other than second spot in LaLiga, Ancelotti also admitted it had been difficult to get his players fired up. “It’s hard to find the motivation for these matches,” the Italian said. “But this week, something has happened. The atmosphere has changed and that’s a good sign.”
Madrid are a point ahead of city rivals Atlético with one round remaining, but both teams have already qualified for next season’s Supercopa.
Atleti beat Real Sociedad as Basques seal Champions League place
Atlético Madrid are still in with a chance of finishing second in LaLiga after a 2-1 win at home to Real Sociedad on Sunday, but it was a happy evening for the Basques too as they sealed a place in next season’s Champions League.
Antoine Griezmann cut inside and hit a sweet strike into the corner to give Atlético the lead late in the first half and Nahuel Molina looked to have wrapped up a comfortable win for the Rojiblancos as he made it 2-0 after 73 minutes, but Alexander Sørloth pulled one back close to the end and Real Sociedad pushed for a leveller in the final stages.
It didn’t come but it didn’t matter as Villarreal’s loss against Rayo Vallecano meant the Basques had finished fourth, which sees the San Sebastián club return to the Champions League for the first time since 2013.
“What these players are achieving has an incalculable value,” Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil said. “It’s absolutely crazy and we have to enjoy it.”
Atlético, meanwhile, are guaranteed to finish in the top three but could pip Real Madrid to second if they win at Villarreal next weekend and Los Blancos fail to beat Athletic Club at the Santiago Bernabéu.
That hardly seemed possible after a disappointing first half of the season saw the Rojiblancos outside the top four. “I’m very happy and we hope to finish the season in the best way,” coach Diego Simeone said.
Espanyol relegated as six-way struggle to beat drop goes to final day
Espanyol looked to have given themselves a chance of beating the drop as they led 2-1 in added time away to Valencia, but Samuel Lino struck in the 93rd minute to relegate the Barcelona-based club with one round remaining and Mestalla went wild as the home side sealed a point which could keep their team up.
For the second game in a row, Espanyol were furious with the officials. In their 3-3 draw at home to Atlético in midweek, they had been unhappy that an Antoine Griezmann effort was allowed to stand, despite there being no conclusive proof that the ball had crossed the line. And here, they complained of a foul in the build-up to Lino’s late leveller.
Nevertheless, they will play in Spain’s Segunda División next season along with bottom club Elche, with the final relegation spot to be decided next Sunday as six teams all battle to avoid the drop.
Valencia are one of those. They have 41 points, along with Cádiz and Getafe above them. Almería and Celta Vigo have 40, with Real Valladolid on 39. All of those teams have their destiny in their own hands going into the final round of matches.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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