MADRID, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Valencia assured a top-four finish and a return to the Champions League next season on Saturday despite suffering a 1-0 defeat to Villarreal, who in turn gave their hopes of a top-six finish a major boost.
Valencia kicked off knowing that Athletic Club Bilbao's 2-0 win at home to Betis, which came thanks to goals from Iker Munian and Aritz Aduriz meant they were already assured a top-four finish, but played their part in an entertaining east-coast derby.
Both sides had chances to win, but Villarreal defender Mario Gaspar headed a vital winner for his side with just 5 minutes remaining following a free kick which means that if Getafe fail to win in Las Palmas on Sunday, they will have also sealed a place in Europe for next season.
Girona's hopes for qualifying for the Europa League suffered an almost decisive setback when they lost 4-1 at home to Eibar.
The Catalan side's third consecutive home defeat came after Kike Garcia scored twice for the visitors, while Joan Jordan and Takashi Inui also got on the scoresheet as Eibar coach Jose Luis Mendilibar was able to celebrate extending his contract with the club in style.
Celta Vigo also saw their already slim hopes of playing in Europe next season suffer another blow when Lucas Perez scored an injury time equalizer for Deportivo la Coruna in the Galicia derby.
Celta had taken a 13th minute lead against their already relegated neighbors thanks to Maxi Gomez's 15th goal of the campaign and had rarely looked under pressure until Perez's powerful volley from a narrow angle at the start of injury time.