LaLiga: Sevilla practically seals top-four finish, Eibar stays up, Leganes still alive

While a few clubs in the LaLiga have already started dreaming of Champions League hopes, others are still fighting to stay alive in Spain's top flight.

Published : Jul 13, 2020 09:48 IST , MADRID (SPAIN)

Eibar sealed its top-flight status after beating relegated Espanyol 2-0 away from home.
Eibar sealed its top-flight status after beating relegated Espanyol 2-0 away from home.
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Eibar sealed its top-flight status after beating relegated Espanyol 2-0 away from home.

Sevilla closed in on Champions League qualification by beating struggling Real Mallorca 2-0 at home to open up a nine-point gap in the race for fourth spot in La Liga.

Lucas Ocampos opened the scoring with a first-half penalty while Youssef En Nesyri sealed the victory late on, latching on to a long punt from goalkeeper Bono and barging past a defender to lift the ball over Mallorca keeper Manolo Reina.

Sevilla has 66 points after 36 games and will clinch its return to Europe's premier competition after a two-year absence if Villarreal, which has 57, fails to beat Real Sociedad on Monday.

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Mallorca is 19th on 32 and will need to earn at least four points in its final two games if it is to stand a chance of staying in the top-flight, as it trails 17th-placed Alaves by three points and has an inferior head-to-head record.

The result also meant Eibar sealed its top-flight status after beating relegated Espanyol 2-0 away from home earlier on, while 14th-placed Real Valladolid is now also safe on 39 points. The side was beaten 1-0 by Barcelona on Saturday.

Edu Exposito scored both goals to earn Eibar its first win in four matches which took it to 15th in the standings on 39 points, seven above the relegation zone.

Elsewhere, Leganes lived to fight another day in La Liga, riding its luck in a 1-0 win at home to Valencia after playing most of the second half with 10 men and seeing its opponent squander a penalty.

Midfielder Ruben Perez put the Madrid minnows in front in the 18th minute from the penalty spot, scoring his first goal since 2013. But his side suffered a setback when Jonathan Silva was shown a straight red card in the 54th.

Valencia earned a penalty soon after following a handball by Leganes' Rodrigo Tarin, but captain Dani Parejo's spot-kick was beaten away by goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar and Leganes somehow clung on to record a first home victory since February.

Defeat would have condemned Leganes to relegation, while the win saw it instead move up to 18th place in the standings on 32 points with two games remaining, three points behind 17th-placed Alaves which has a game in hand.

Valencia is ninth on 50 points.

Also on Sunday, Athletic Bilbao won 2-1 away to Levante thanks to two goals from Raul Garcia to move into seventh place, the final Europa League berth, on 51 points. 

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