Villarreal seal fourth, Liverpool and Sevilla lose
Sunday, May 1, 2016
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Villarreal warmed up for their semi-final decider with Liverpool by securing fourth place in Spain and there was joy too for Shakhtar Donetsk, while defeat beckoned for the Reds and Sevilla.
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The UEFA Europa League semi-final deciders loomed large for the last four clubs involved this weekend, but that did not stop Villarreal clinching fourth place in Spain with victory at Valencia. Shakhtar Donetsk enjoyed a morale-boosting win as well, though Liverpool and Sevilla both lost.
Liverpool v Villarreal
Sunday: Swansea 3-1 Liverpool (A. Ayew 20 67, Cork 33; Benteke 65)
- Christian Benteke nodded in his 50th Premier League strike of his career as Swansea City dismantled a much-changed Liverpool side – with an average age of just 23 – in Wales. Brad Smith was sent off for the Reds, whose hopes of a UEFA Champions League berth now rest on winning the UEFA Europa League this season.
Sunday: Valencia 0-2 Villarreal (Samu 14, Adrián López 33)
- The Yellow Submarine clinched fourth place in Spain and a spot in UEFA Champions League qualifying thanks to a pair of first-half strikes. Roberto Soldado provided both assists as Samu opened the scoring and Adrián López – who made the difference against Liverpool on Thursday – finished off a counterattacking move to leave Villarreal six points ahead of Athletic Club with a superior head-to-head record.
Sevilla v Shakhtar Donetsk
Sunday: Espanyol 1-0 Sevilla (Caicedo 52)
- Sevilla – without an away league win in 18 outings – remain in seventh after suffering a ninth Liga reverse on the road this term. With an eye on Thursday's return against Shakhtar, Unai Emery made 11 changes to the side that earned a 2-2 draw in Ukraine and paid the price as Felipe Caicedo struck in the second half.
Sunday: Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 Dynamo Kyiv (Eduardo 33 78, Wellington Nem 73)
- The Pitmen had Yaroslav Rakitskiy and Taras Stepanenko sent off, while the visitors lost Andriy Yarmolenko to a second bookable offence in a fiery affair between the top two in Ukraine. Eduardo notched two and Wellington Nem added another as Serhiy Rebrov's charges – crowned champions last week – suffered their second league defeat of the season.
