Levante down as Forlan fires Villareal

Villarreal and Real Betis secured their places in the Champions League qualifying rounds for next season, but there was despair for Levante who were relegated from the Primera Liga on an eventful final day in the Spanish top flight.

Villarreal came from behind to beat Levante 4-1, and condemn their opponents to the drop.

Betis, meanwhile, drew 1-1 at relegation-threatened Real Mallorca, who were just a point above Levante at the start of play.

The point was enough to cement fourth spot for Betis, as city rivals Sevilla slumped to a 2-0 loss at home to Malaga.

With Betis securing their place in European football’s elite competition, Osasuna – who will face Betis in the final of the Copa del Rey – are in the UEFA Cup, despite finishing 15th in the Primera Liga following a 1-0 defeat at Valencia.

Fifth-placed Espanyol, who beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0, and sixth-placed Sevilla, will also play in the UEFA Cup next season.

Valencia, who won the title last season, and Deportivo La Coruna, who finished seventh and eighth respectively, will play in the Intertoto Cup.

Levante knew that they had to get a better result than Mallorca to avoid the drop, and they got off to a great start when Gustavo Reggi gave them the lead midway through the first half.

However, Josico headed home the equaliser four minutes before the break, and then on the stroke of half-time Diego Forlan tapped in to make it 2-1 to the hosts.

Forlan bagged his second in stoppage time – his 25th goal of the season – to become the top scorer in the Primera Liga this season, and seconds later Luciano Figueroa completed the scoring.

Mallorca were grateful for Villarreal’s efforts, as they had to rely on a late Guillermo Pereyra header to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Betis, who took the lead thanks to a magnificent Marcos Assuncao free-kick after 53 minutes.