BARCELONA — Villarreal warmed up for its decisive Europa League semifinal at Liverpool by clinching a berth in Europe’s top competition Sunday.
Villarreal’s comfortable 2-0 win at regional rival Valencia guaranteed it will finish in fourth place in the Spanish league, giving the club a Champions League playoff spot next season.
The “Yellow Submarine” can now focus on earning a spot in this season’s Europa League final. Villarreal heads to Anfield Thursday for the second leg of the semifinal, a week after Adrian Lopez’s stoppage-time goal gave it a slim 1-0 advantage in their tie.
Roberto Soldado was the only player to return to Villarreal’s starting 11 from its first-leg win over Liverpool. And the former Valencia striker excelled as a playmaker, setting up Samuel Garcia’s 14th-minute opener before Lopez continued his strong form with another goal cued by Soldado on the break in the 33rd.
The win gave Villarreal a six-point lead over Athletic Bilbao, with two rounds left and a better head-to-head record.
“We will enjoy what we have achieved today because we have put the finish on an extraordinary league campaign,” said Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia.
Earlier, Aritz Aduriz and Raul Garcia led Bilbao’s 2-1 fightback over 10-man Celta Vigo, leapfrogging the visitors in the standings.
Espanyol also got a much needed 1-0 win over Sevilla to keep its distance from the relegation zone, while Getafe kept alive its hopes of staying up by winning 2-0 at Deportivo La Coruna.
Sevilla, which hosts Shakhtar Donetsk in the other Europa League semifinal Thursday after its 2-2 draw in Ukraine, stayed in seventh place despite remaining winless on the road in the league this season through 18 away matches.
Getafe continued its turnaround under coach Juan Esnaider, earning a second win to go with a draw in the last three rounds. — Agencies
