Daijiworld Media Network – Madrid

Madrid, May 14: Newly-crowned La Liga champions Barcelona suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat against relegation-threatened Alaves on Wednesday, ending their hopes of equalling the Spanish league’s all-time record tally of 100 points.

Hansi Flick’s side needed to win all their remaining matches to reach the landmark figure but stumbled in Vitoria after Ibrahim Diabate struck in first-half stoppage time to hand Alaves a crucial victory in their battle to avoid relegation.

The win lifted Alaves to 15th place and out of the drop zone, boosting Quique Sanchez Flores’ side in the closing stages of the season.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick admitted the match was difficult, stating that Alaves fought hard because they were battling to remain in La Liga. He, however, highlighted positives from the game, including the performances of young players and effective squad rotation after the club’s recent title celebrations.

Barcelona had secured back-to-back league titles after defeating Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday and celebrated the triumph with an open-top bus parade earlier this week.

Flick made several changes to the line-up and handed a debut to 21-year-old defender Alvaro Cortes. Despite enjoying the majority of possession, Barcelona struggled to break down a determined Alaves defence.

Marcus Rashford showed flashes of energy on the wing, but the visitors failed to create many clear opportunities. Alaves capitalised just before halftime when Antonio Blanco headed a corner back into the box and Diabate fired past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

The hosts nearly extended their lead in the second half, but Szczesny denied Diabate, while Jon Guridi struck the post with another effort.

In another key match, Sevilla produced a dramatic comeback from two goals down to beat Villarreal 3-2 and move further away from the relegation zone.

Gerard Moreno and Georges Mikautadze had given Villarreal an early advantage before Sevilla responded through Oso and Kike Salas before the break. Akor Adams scored the winner in the 72nd minute.
The victory lifted Sevilla provisionally to 10th place, four points clear of the relegation zone.

Elsewhere, Espanyol ended an 18-match winless run with a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao. Goals from Pere Milla and Kike Garcia helped the Catalan side move three points above the bottom three.

Getafe also boosted their hopes of qualifying for the Conference League after registering a 3-1 win over struggling Mallorca.