The days of transistors arrive, the unified schedules and the looks put at the same time in different scenarios involved in the same fight. With calculators smoking and nerves on edge, there are several teams that face the penultimate round with homework still to be done. After the day during the week, some emergencies increase before the imminent league outcome.
After a year in Second Division hell, Espanyol’s minimum objective this season was to ensure permanence without suffering. However, covering the file has not been enough to satisfy the demand in Cornellà. After a season with a permanent buzz around the entity, the bad feelings that have flown over the parakeet environment have been aggravated in recent weeks, with several situations that have shown the need for regeneration. Once permanence was assured, the blue and white president Chen Yansheng announced the dismissal of Vicente Moreno, who will no longer sit on the bench against Valencia. The duel, advanced to Saturday due to its qualifying insignificance, will measure the anguish of two teams that demand changes to face the next course with gains.
Villarreal and Real Sociedad have experienced relatively opposite seasons. Those of Imanol Alguacil started the course occupying the privileged zone, opposing the Champions League and even temporarily leading the table. While Unai Emery’s team did not find regularity in the results until the second round, appearing in the continental fight late and at a disadvantage. After ten months of competition, the trajectory of both leads them to meet on this penultimate day in the middle of the dispute to enter Europe, installed in sixth and seventh position. Separated by three points, a local win would leave all options open. The direct duel at the Estadio de la Cerámica can determine whether the continental award has more or less cache, with tickets for the Europa League and Conference League still up for grabs.
Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla are two teams called at the beginning of the season to qualify for the Champions League. After experiencing two valleys of results in the second round that have prevented both teams from claiming the title, the Champions League had become the only priority for months. Simeone’s men, mathematically classified, still have a remote chance of finishing second, which would allow them to play in the next Spanish Super Cup. While the Sevillian team, which has three draws in a row, could seal its participation in the top European competition for the second consecutive year with a draw at the Wanda Metropoilano.
Levante and Alavés have lived together since matchday 18, sharing sorrows every weekend. Sunk in the relegation zone, without seeing the possibility of escaping from the burn, both clubs have resorted during this process to a triple change in the bench to straighten the course. Despite the recovery attempts, neither granotas nor babazorros have managed to chain a streak as the rest of their fellow travelers have done in the lower part, who in some section have gained momentum to momentarily alleviate the anguish. The azulgrana signed their sentence with the resounding defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu, which certified relegation. The Vitorians, for their part, are still alive but need a miracle to save themselves. If Cádiz wins Real Madrid at home, Julio Velázquez’s team will mathematically be in the Second Division even if they win at the Ciutat de València.
Betis-Granada is one of the most special matches of the penultimate day. Beyond the qualifying importance –the Betis in the fight for Europe and the Nasrids to ensure salvation–, the clash will serve to bring together two of the greatest active legends in the League. Joaquín Sánchez and Jorge Molina are the oldest outfield players in the League, sharing the podium with Diego López. Both are among the five longest-serving scorers in Primera. The man from Alicante, author of ten goals this year, visits what was his home for six years. With the uncertainty of knowing Joaquín’s future –Molina renewed for one more season a few weeks ago–, the one from Puerto de Santamaría is just over twenty appearances away from becoming the player with the most appearances in the Spanish league. Benito Villamarín wants to celebrate qualifying for the Europa League with a victory that could even leave open the options of accessing the Champions League.
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