Spanish league ends with title finale, possible farewells

Advertisement

Advertise with us

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Two of Spain's most modest stadiums are set to offer scenes of joy and sorrow on Saturday.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/05/2021 (1943 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Two of Spain’s most modest stadiums are set to offer scenes of joy and sorrow on Saturday.

Atlético Madrid can ensure it clinches its first Spanish league title in seven years with a win at Valladolid, while Lionel Messi and Ronald Koeman could participate in their last game for Barcelona when they visit the already relegated Eibar.

Atlético enters the final round of the competition with a two-point lead over defending champion Real Madrid.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Celta at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, May. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Lionel Messi reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Celta at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, May. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

If Diego Simeone’s side fails to win at Valladolid, Madrid can retain its title by beating Villarreal. Madrid holds the tiebreaker advantage with Atlético in case they finish level on points.

In a provincial city 190 kilometers (118 miles) north of Madrid, Valladolid needs a victory at its José Zorrilla Stadium to have a chance of avoiding relegation.

Elche and Huesca are also fighting with Valladolid to not go down, with two of the three clubs destined for the drop.

For Valladolid defender Kiki Olivas, his team’s desperation could be what it needs to pull off the upset.

“We still have a chance and that is why we must fight until the end,” Olivas said. “We have to forget everything else and face the match with the belief that we can pull it off regardless of the difficulty. Atlético Madrid has something important to play for, but this is our stadium and we have more at stake than they do.”

Olivas will be tasked with helping defend Luis Suárez, whose late goal last weekend secured a 2-1 comeback win over Osasuna that kept Atlético at the top of the standings and in control of its fate.

Atlético will face the finale without its most-used center back, Stefan Savic, who will serve a one-game suspension for accumulation of yellow cards. José Giménez, who has been hit by injuries and a bout with COVID-19 this season, will likely take his place.

Besides needing Valladolid to at least draw with Atlético, Madrid must beat a Villarreal side that has played well all season but may be looking ahead to an even more important game.

Villarreal will face Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday in Gdansk, Poland, aiming to win the first major title in club history. If it beats the English powerhouse, it will also qualify for the Champions League.

In the Spanish league, Villarreal is currently in seventh place, a spot that earns a berth for next season’s new Europa Conference League.

But a win over Madrid could allow it to move up into the Europa League spots. Real Sociedad and Real Betis are hoping to lock up those berths with finishes in fifth- and sixth-place with respective wins at Osasuna and Celta Vigo.

“Our most important game is always the next one up,” Villarreal coach Unai Emery said. “The Spanish league has always been our focus and qualifying for European competition for the coming season our main goal.”

Barcelona bowed out of the title fight last round. Its match at Eibar’s Ipurúa Stadium will likely be a sad final appearance for its coach and maybe even its greatest player of all time.

The days of Koeman appear to be numbered after his team’s poor finish and with president Joan Laporta pledging that he will overhaul the team this offseason.

It could also be the last time that Messi plays for Barcelona. The 33-year-old Argentina forward has given no indication what his plans are when his contract expires on June 30. The match will be number 779 for Messi in a Barcelona shirt.

Barcelona’s only interest in the outcome is maintaining third place, which Sevilla could snatch from the Catalan club with a victory over Alavés.

So, a two-decade-long partnership that has taken Messi and Barcelona to the heights of world soccer could finish at a tiny stadium in northern Spain, with practically nothing to play for, and nobody to cheer.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Mayoral candidate denounced for online comments

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Preview

Mayoral candidate denounced for online comments

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:34 PM CDT

A Winnipeg mayoral candidate is facing criticism after he posted derogatory comments about immigrants and used the word “gay” as an insult online.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 2:34 PM CDT

‘Didn’t realize how close I was’ to getting hit, pedestrian says

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Preview

‘Didn’t realize how close I was’ to getting hit, pedestrian says

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Updated: 3:18 PM CDT

A West Broadway pedestrian says it was like a scene straight out of the movies as he narrowly avoided being plowed into during a midday police pursuit.

Adam Orbanski was crossing Langside Street along Broadway Friday and had just made it to the curb when a vehicle slammed into another metres away from him.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Orbanski said Monday after viewing security footage of the incident captured by a nearby business. “I didn’t realize how close I was, I guess, until my friend sent me the security footage. I’m lucky to be alive.”

Orbanski said he was walking home from work when he began to hear sirens. As he crossed Langside, he could see one vehicle approaching him quickly.

Read
Updated: 3:18 PM CDT

‘Kind and gentle giant’: man, 21, killed in animal attack on Manitoba First Nation

Chris Kitching 4 minute read Preview

‘Kind and gentle giant’: man, 21, killed in animal attack on Manitoba First Nation

Chris Kitching 4 minute read Updated: 2:43 PM CDT

The family of a 21-year-old man who was fatally attacked by an animal in western Manitoba is waiting for answers, after investigators ruled out a bear attack based on their preliminary findings.

Moses Campeau was walking on a road to a friend’s house in Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, about 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, when he was fatally injured Sept. 9, his mother, Paula Campeau, said Monday.

“Moses was a kind and gentle giant,” she said. “He was a person who (people) would ask to come and help them, and he would go without even hesitating.”

Manitoba RCMP said officers from the Swan River detachment found the man on a community road after receiving a report of a suspicious death at about 3:10 a.m. The scene was held and the RCMP’s major crime services took over the investigation.

Read
Updated: 2:43 PM CDT

Defenceman Morrissey focused on season ahead

Ken Wiebe 8 minute read Preview

Defenceman Morrissey focused on season ahead

Ken Wiebe 8 minute read 12:08 PM CDT

Josh Morrissey insists that a trade request from the franchise goalie doesn’t change his desire to be a lifelong Winnipeg Jet.

The top-pairing defenceman and alternate captain reinforced that view on Monday morning when speaking to a group of reporters prior to the Winnipeg Jets Golf Classic at St. Charles Country Club.

“At the end of the day, I love being here and I love being a Jet. That’s how I’ve always felt,” said Morrissey, who spoke for just over nine minutes on a variety of topics. “That doesn’t change because of somebody else’s decision. Nothing is finalized, so who knows, he could be back. My position doesn’t change.”

Morrissey has two years left on a contract that pays him US$6.25 million and he’s only eligible to sign an extension on July 1, but the future of the franchise pillar will be a topic of discussion as the Jets work to sort through the situation with franchise goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, which remains unresolved.

Read
12:08 PM CDT

Downtown no place to be after dark, huge majority of Winnipeggers say in survey

Joyanne Pursaga 8 minute read Preview

Downtown no place to be after dark, huge majority of Winnipeggers say in survey

Joyanne Pursaga 8 minute read Friday, Sep. 11, 2026

Most Winnipeggers are afraid to walk alone downtown and believe the city needs more police officers, a new survey finds.

Winnipeg Police Service released its 2026 citizen survey Friday.

Downtown safety appears to remain a major concern, with just 44 per cent saying they feel very or reasonably safe walking alone in the area during the day. The number plummets to eight per cent overall at night, down from nine per cent in 2024, the last time the survey was conducted.

This year, 14 per cent of men felt very or reasonably safe walking alone downtown at night, compared to just three per cent of women.

Read
Friday, Sep. 11, 2026

Port of Churchill expansion could chase belugas away, U of M researcher says

Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Preview

Port of Churchill expansion could chase belugas away, U of M researcher says

Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Yesterday at 9:07 AM CDT

As plans to expand the Port of Churchill into a four-season trade corridor gathers momentum, a University of Manitoba researcher has published a report on what ship traffic could mean for the beluga whales that gather in the Churchill River estuary each summer.

Veronica Coppolaro said more vessels in the waterways bring a risk that belugas will stop using the estuary for migration, which would impact the ecological landscape, tourism and communities that rely on the animals for food and cultural purposes.

“There are studies showing that (noises) change the way they swim, they change the way (the whales) are vocalizing, they change their main activity, and so this (expansion) can have consequences at different levels,” she said.

The Churchill river estuary is a marine habitat where the Churchill River empties into Hudson Bay. During the summer months belugas gather in the area to feed and give birth.

Read
Yesterday at 9:07 AM CDT