Liga F round up: Barcelona clinch title, Huelva relegated

Barcelona thrashed Granada 4-1 to seal a fifth consecutive domestic title. While there was joy for the Catalan giants, there was despair for Sporting Club Huelva as their Liga F relegation was confirmed with a narrow defeat to Levante Las Planas.

As well as those two matches, we will round up all the action from matchday 26 of the Liga F season.

Atlético Madrid 1-0 Costa Adeje Tenerife

Atlético Madrid continued their Champions League push with a narrow victory in Saturday’s clash with Tenerife. The visitors kept Atleti at bay until the final quarter of the game when Claudia Blanco was penalised for handling the ball on the line. The defender was swiftly dismissed before Ludmila stepped up to dispatch the subsequent penalty. The win keeps the hosts in third place with just four games left to play.

Valencia 0-2 Eibar

Eibar moved seven points clear of danger with a successful away performance against Valencia. Ane Campos gave Eibar the lead in the 62nd minute after Valencia lost possession in their box. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Annelie Leitner tapped in from Andrea Álvarez’s cross to make sure of the three points. A second straight defeat leaves Valencia in 11th place, and five points above the drop zone.

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Athletic Club 1-0 Villarreal

Nahikari García required just seven minutes to bundle the ball home Carmen Carbonell’s parry. Villarreal’s hopes of claiming a positive result were dealt a significant blow when Bicho was sent off in the 52nd minute. With a numerical advantage, Athletic saw out the remainder of the contest with minimal fuss to claim a fifth consecutive home victory.

The Basque side are now in fifth spot, while the visitors are languishing in the drop zone with two points separating them from safety.

Granada 1-4 Barcelona

Barcelona clinched their ninth Liga F title with a dominant away performance against Granada. Fridolina Rolfö tapped in from Caroline Graham Hansen’s cut-back to open the scoring inside the opening two minutes. England international Lucy Bronze doubled the visitors’ advantage, before Graham Hansen added a third from close range.

Granada’s Laura Pérez kept her composure from the spot to pull a goal back in first-half stoppage time.  However, Rolfo dispatched a penalty of her own in the 75th minute to restore Barcelona’s three-goal advantage and wrap up a title-winning victory. Having clinched the Supercopa de España and the Liga F trophy, Barcelona still have the chance to win the Copa de la Reina and the Champions League before the curtain comes down on the 2023/24 season.

Levante 4-3 Real Sociedad

Levante showed great character to prevail in Sunday’s seven-goal thriller against Real Sociedad. Érika González gave the hosts an 11th minute lead, before the visitors hit back through Manuela Vanegas. Synne Jensen then beat Andrea Tarazona with the aid of a deflection to turn the game in Real Sociedad’s favour.

María Méndez thought she had done enough to make it an even half-time scoreline when she headed home from Nataša Andonova’s lofted cross. However, Jensen quickly restored Real Sociedad’s lead to leave Levante with a deficit to overturn at the break.

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As it proved, Levante rose to the challenge, scoring two second half goals to clinch all three points. First, Alba Redondo controlled Daniela Arques’ cross, before slotting past Elene Lete. The same pair combined again for Redondo to net an 82nd minute winner, leaving Levante just one point adrift of the top three.

Sporting Club Huelva 1-2 Levante Las Planas

Levante Las Planas claimed a crucial win to boost their Liga F survival hopes and condemned Huelva to the second tier. After playing out a goalless first half, Anissa Lahmari netted her seventh league goal of the season to open the scoring just after the hour mark. Laura Martínez then fired the ball in off the post to give Levante Las Planas a crucial two-goal cushion.

Patri Ojeda netted a late penalty to halve the deficit, but it could not prevent Huelva from falling to a third consecutive defeat and exiting Liga F.

Real Betis 1-1 Sevilla

Real Betis and Sevilla shared the spoils in Sunday’s crucial derby clash. The hosts appeared to be heading to victory when Violeta Quiles headed home just after the hour mark. Betis held onto their slender advantage until Sevilla found the all-important equaliser in the 90th minute. After seeing her initial effort blocked, Gemma Gili produced a calm and composed finish to guide the ball past Paulo Vizoso. The draw leaves Betis in 13th spot and two points clear of the bottom two.

Madrid CFF 0-1 Real Madrid

Real Madrid are guaranteed to finish in second place after they edged out Madrid CFF at the weekend. Claudia Zornoza headed in from Teresa Abelleira’s fizzing free-kick to break the deadlock in the seventh minute. With Madrid unable to find a response, their Champions League hopes are now left hanging by a thread. They are now in sixth place and five points adrift of the top three with four games left to play.

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