VIGO, Spain (Reuters) – Real Valladolid were relegated from LaLiga on the final day of the season on Sunday, while champions Barcelona ended their campaign with a 2-1 defeat at strugglers Celta Vigo.
Six anxious teams went into the final weekend hoping to avoid the drop, with five breathing sighs of relief when Ronaldo-owned Valladolid’s 0-0 draw at home to Getafe ensured they finished 18th, ending their season-long LaLiga stay.
At the Balaidos in Vigo, hosts Celta, who were battling the drop, took the lead in the 42nd minute when Gabri Veiga squeezed past defenders Marcos Alonso and Andreas Christensen with a burst of pace and slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
Spurred on by a desire to rubber-stamp their safety, Celta took control of the game, launching wave after wave of attacks on Barca’s backline before Veiga scored again with a cross that sailed fortuitously into the net in the 65th minute.
Barca made a raft of substitutions in the second half, with one of those changes, Ansu Fati, scoring in the 79th minute, but Celta held on for the win and ended in 13th spot.
Valencia and Cadiz survived after 1-1 draws, while Almeria twice went behind to already-relegated Espanyol before an 87th-minute penalty from Adri Embarba earned a 3-3 draw to move them up to 41 points – one ahead of Valladolid.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Ken Ferris)
