MADRID (AP) – Barcelona’s hopes of reaching 100 points in the Spanish league ended with a 1-0 loss to Alaves on Wednesday.
Barcelona won their second straight league title with a 2-0 home win over rivals Real Madrid on Sunday, but needed three wins from their last three games to reach 100 points.
The defeat ended the Catalan club’s winning streak at 11.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said, “We’re a little disappointed with the result, but everyone wanted to win today.” “But in the end we saw something good. I’m happy with the team’s performance.”
Alaves players served as a guard of honor for Barcelona’s team before the match, lining up and applauding their rivals as they entered the field.
This result was a big victory for Alaves, who escaped from the relegation zone. With two rounds left, he finished in 15th place with 40 points, one point behind the bottom three.
“It’s not clear yet, but it was a big step,” said Alaves forward Toni Martinez.
Ibrahim Diabaté scored the winning goal from inside the area in stoppage time of the first half.
Alaves had not kept a clean sheet in 20 consecutive league games. Barcelona had scored at least one goal in 56 consecutive league games.
Espanyol wins again
Espanyol defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at home, ending an 18-game winless streak and moving further away from the relegation zone.
Pere Mila scored in the 69th minute and Quique García scored in stoppage time to give Espanyol their first win of the year. Their last win was against Athletic in December.
As a result, Espanyol moved up to 14th place, while Athletic remained in 9th place.
Sevilla progress
Sevilla also regained some leeway by rallying from a two-goal deficit against Villarreal to win 3-2.
With three consecutive wins, Sevilla moved up from the relegation zone to 10th place, four points behind.
Villarreal remained in third place, just three points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, who won 2-1 at Osasuna on Tuesday.
Mallorca in crisis
Mallorca lost 1-3 at home to Getafe, leaving them in 17th place, just outside the relegation zone. Mallorca have won just one of their last five games.
Getafe finished seventh and qualified for the European competition.
Oviedo have already been relegated, but 10 teams are at the bottom of the table with two rounds left within four points of each other.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
