Unai Emery paid the price for changing his entire team as Sevilla slumped to a 1-0 La Liga defeat at struggling Espanyol on Sunday.

With an eye on Thursday's Europa League semifinal second leg against Shakhtar Donetsk, Emery made 11 changes to the side that earned a 2-2 draw in Ukraine last week.

And he watched a virtual reserve team beaten by Felipe Caicedo's second half strike which effectively if not mathematically secured the hosts' top-flight survival with two games of the season to go.

Villarreal sealed their place in next season's Champions League playoff by winning 2-0 at local rivals Valencia thanks to first-half goals from Samu Garcia and Adrian Lopez.

With the win, Marcelino's side sealed their return to Europe's elite competition for the first time in five years, with Garcia putting Villarreal on their way to victory in the 14th minute.

Adrian then built on his last-gasp winner against Liverpool in Thursday's Europa League semifinal first leg by coolly slotting in the second goal in the 33rd minute.

Villarreal stay fourth in the league table, six points clear of Athletic and with a superior head-to-head record than the Basques, and seven above Celta.

Raul Garcia struck a second-half winner as Athletic Bilbao beat 10-man Celta Vigo 2-1 to leapfrog their rivals into fifth place.

Ernesto Valverde's side were forced to come from behind to seal a victory which cements their hopes of Europa League qualification with two games of the season to go.

Getafe lifted their hopes of avoiding relegation as Pedro Leon and Carlos Vigaray scored in either half to beat 10-man Deportivo La Coruna 2-0.

Leon's powerful finish put the Madrid side ahead in the 41st minute and 21-year-old defender Vigaray scored his first goal for the club to seal the points in the 85th, after Celso Borges was dismissed for a second booking.

Getafe are still in the bottom three but are now level on points with relegation rivals Sporting Gijon and Rayo Vallecano, with two games remaining for the three clubs to try and save themselves.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by PA Sport

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