BARCELONA (AFP) - Barcelona finished 13 points behind La Liga champions Real Madrid after ending their turbulent season with a whimper on Sunday by losing 2-0 at home to Villarreal.
Atletico Madrid secured third place by winning 2-1 away at Real Sociedad, retaining their one-point lead over Sevilla, who won 1-0 at home to Athletic Bilbao.
Athletic’s defeat, combined with Villarreal’s excellent victory at Camp Nou, means Villarreal beat Athletic into seventh and qualify for the Europa Conference League.
Villarreal’s season was lit up by their sensational run to the semi-finals of the Champions League but Unai Emery’s team have suffered from inconsistency against the lower sides in La Liga and will be demoted to Europe’s third-tier competition next term.
Athletic finish eighth while Real Sociedad held onto sixth and Europa League qualification, despite their loss at home to Atletico Madrid.
At the other end of the table, Granada joined Alaves and Levante in being relegated.
Granada were held to a goalless draw by Espanyol, allowing Cadiz, who won 1-0 away at Alaves, to survive. Mallorca also stayed up by beating Osasuna 2-0.
Barca already had second place and a spot in the top four wrapped up but Xavi Hernandez will be concerned heading into the summer about how his team has faded.
“We feel a bit sad about today’s result,” Dani Alves told Barca TV. “We have to reflect, change our mentality next season and put more effort on the pitch because we are representing this great club and we cannot reach the end of the season again without competing for anything.”