The Hindu : Sport / Football : Villarreal and Real Betis in next season's Champions League

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Sport

Sport - Football

Villarreal and Real Betis in next season's Champions League

Neither team has previously played in Europe's top club competition

MADRID: Villarreal and Real Betis earned places in next season's European Champions League on Sunday, winning their final games of the Spanish league season.

Diego Forlan scored twice to help Villarreal crush Levante 4-1 and finish in third place while Marcos Assuncao's strike gave Betis a 1-1 draw with Mallorca and fourth place.

Neither team has previously played in Europe's top club competition.

"We've had a great year, one which has been spectacular in every aspect," Villarreal's Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini was quoted as saying. "Not just because we have qualified but because how we've managed it, playing some of the best soccer in the league and scoring lots of goals."

Levante relegated

Levante's defeat relegated it to the second division with Numancia and Albacete.

Espanyol and Sevilla secured spots in next season's UEFA Cup. Espanyol beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 and Sevilla lost 2-0 against Malaga.

Spain's third UEFA Cup place went to Osasuna as a Copa del Rey finalist. Its opponent on June 11 is Betis, which has qualified for the Champions League and provided Osasuna with its opportunity.

Last season's league champion Valencia beat Osasuna 1-0 but missed out on a place in the UEFA Cup, which it also won in 2004.

In Sunday's other games, it was: Atletico Madrid 2, Getafe 2; Racing Santander 1, Albacete 0; and Numancia 1, Deportivo La Coruna 1.

FC Barcelona won the league with 84 points, four ahead of Real Madrid. Villarreal was third 65 points, while Betis was another three behind. Espanyol finished fifth with 61, one more than Sevilla. Valencia was seventh with 58.

Barcelona draws

On Saturday, Barcelona drew 0-0 with Real Sociedad, while Madrid beat Zaragoza 3-1.

Forlan's two goals gave him 25 to finish atop the league's scoring leaders, one better than FC Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o.

The Uruguayan, in his first season with Villarreal after moving over from Manchester United, also shared the Golden Boot prize for Europe's leading scorers with Arsenal's Thierry Henry.

Villarreal rallied at its El Madrigal stadium came after it fell behind on Argentine forward Gustavo Reggi's 23rd-minute header.

Midfielder Josico Moreno equalised with a header from a chipped pass by midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme in the 41st minute.

Forlan adds second

Forlan added the second on the stroke of halftime when he turned the ball home from close range and added a third in the 90th minute.

Argentine substitute Luciano Figueroa added a fourth goal in injury time.

Mallorca ended the season safe from relegation, two points above Levante.

Betis took the lead on Assuncao's trademark free kick in the 53rd minute with Argentine substitute Guillermo Pereyra leveling for Mallorca in the 89th.

Sevilla's hopes of playing in the Champions League for the first time evaporated with a home defeat against Malaga. Sergio `Duda' Barbosa scored in the 75th minute from a free kick and Fernando Baiano added a second in injury time.

Espanyol downed Bilbao on Toni Velamazan's 33rd-minute shot and a 47th-minute header by defender Albert Lopo.

Narrow victory

Valencia ended its disappointing season with a narrow victory against Osasuna. Argentine forward Pablo Aimar headed the winner in the 81st minute.

Atletico Madrid ended the season with an eight-game winless streak after drawing with Getafe.

Getafe led on David Cubillo's 22nd-minute penalty and Gica Craioveanu's 55th-minute shot. Uruguayan Richard Nunez scored for Atletico in the 46th and the 91st.

Albacete bid farewell to the top flight with a defeat at Santander. Striker David Aganzo headed the game's only goal in the 34th minute.

Relegated Numancia gained a point against Deportivo in its final game.

Luis Tevenet scored for Numancia with 49th-minute penalty with defender Juanpa de Miguel's own-goal bringing Deportivo's equalizer 11 minutes later.

The results:

Atletico Madrid 2 drew with Getafe 2; Numancia 1 drew with Deportivo La Coruna 1; Espanyol 2 bt Athletic Bilbao 0; Mallorca 1 drew with Real Betis 1; Malaga 2 bt Sevilla 0; Valencia 1 bt Osasuna 0; Villareal 4 bt Levante 1; Racing Santander 1 bt Albacete 0. — AP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport