As a result of football match between Almeria and Sevilla

The results of football matches in La Liga

Sevilla beat Almeria 3-2 in injury time to make Champions League; Mallorca settle for Europa League despite win over Espanyol

A nail-biting 90 minutes saw 10-man Sevilla scrape into the Champions League...

Almeria 2-3 Sevilla - Lineup/Stats
Mallorca 2-0 Espanyol - Lineup/Stats
La Liga Fixtures, Results & Standings

Sevilla, despite having the Copa del Rey final this coming Wednesday, had no room to rest key players as they chased for the more lucrative Champions League berth. Mallorca, meanwhile, needed a victory at home to Espanyol and hope that Sevilla fail to beat Almeria at the Estadio Mediterraneo to stand a chance of bagging a fourth-place finish.

Although Sevilla and Mallorca were both after precious wins, both teams started tamely. In fact, the Blanquirrojos could easily have gone behind in the opening minutes.

Almeria created the first threat after just three minutes when Pablo Piatti broke clear and charged into the box, but Andres Palop was quick off his line to smother it. Just a minute later, Michel drilled in a low cross-shot from the right channel which flashed just wide of Palop’s right post.

Sevilla had their first look at goal on eight minutes, but Frederic Kanoute’s half volley was punched away by Almeria’s back-up goalkeeper, Esteban. On 12 minutes, Sevilla’s goal was rattled again when Corona’s freekick from the left flank cannoned back off the bar.

Almeria 0-1 Sevilla: The Nervionenses finally responded on 15 minutes when Kanoute launched his side into the lead after connecting with Jesus Navas’ dinked cross with a bullet header from 12 yards out which nestled into the bottom corner of the net.

Mallorca 1-0 Espanyol: Over at the ONO Estadi, Mallorca only managed to put together half-chances against Espanyol. But on 23 minutes, they broke the deadlock against the run of play. Gonzalo Castro charged down the left wing to the byline before cutting a low cross to the centre for Victor, who rifled in a shot first time to beat Cristian Alvarez.

Sevilla’s defence was carved open again on 28 minutes but Piatti’s header just flew over the bar after he outjumped the on-rushing Palop to meet Crusat’s cross.

At the San Moix, Mallorca should have doubled their advantage on 32 minutes. Aritz Aduriz did brilliantly to twist and turn past his marker before squaring the ball to the middle for Victor, who stabbed his shot wide from close range, although it took a slight deflection on the way out.

The Balearic Islanders then had another opportunity five minutes before the break. Varela’s drive on the edge of the box ricocheted off a defender and the ball looped over the flat-footed Espanyol goalkeeper, but it just dropped over the bar. Despite the miss, a roar soon erupted at the ONO Estadi.

Almeria 1-1 Sevilla: Juan Ortiz’s inch-perfect cross fell beautifully for Fernando Soriano, who unleashed a sweet volley into the bottom left corner to draw Almeria levelled right at the stroke of half-time. As both games entered the half-time breather, it was Mallorca who were on their way to the Champions League.

Mallorca’s mood was almost dampened two minutes into the restart when Espanyol almost equalised. Ben Sahar latched onto a through ball but his side-footed finish from six yards out was kept out by a Dudu Aouate kick-save.

Almeria 1-2 Sevilla: Over at the Mediterraneo, Sevilla made sure that they would not have to endure a nervous start to the half when they regained the lead on 52 minutes to jump back into fourth place after a slice of good fortune. Jesus Navas drilled in a cross from the right which forced Estaban to lunge forward to punch the ball away, but the clearance bounced off his own defender Chico and into the back of the net.

On 64 minutes, the balance of the Champions League berth threatened to swing again when Sevilla were reduced to 10 men after former Almeria striker Alvaro Negredo was sent off for dissent when he insulted the linesman for flagging him offside in an excellent scoring chance.

And that dismissal would come back to haunt the Nervionenses as within a space of 60 seconds, the tables were turned completely.

Mallorca 2-0 Espanyol: On 78 minutes, Mallorca wrapped up the three points they were looking for when they made it 2-0 when Mario Suarez volleyed home Borja Valero’s corner. And just a minute later, the whole of the ONO Estadi went berserk as events at the Mediterraneo took another stunning turn.

Almeria 2-2 Sevilla: Juan Ortiz bombed down the left, danced past Stankevicius, cut into the middle and rifled in an unstoppable piledriver past a flailing Palop right into the top corner.

With five minutes remaining, Ortiz twice came close to decimate Sevilla’s Champions League dreams when he screamed forward unchallenged down the left channel but on both occasions, he failed to find a finish. With Mallorca all but assured of the win, all the focus was in Almeria as the players and coaching staff took to the pitch to wait for the final result in Andalucia. And there was yet to be a final twist.

Almeria 2-3 Sevilla: Three minutes into injury time, Sevilla scored the priceless winning goal. Jesus Navas again provided the assist when his cross found Squillaci, whose mis-hit acrobatic effort fell kindly to inexperienced 19-year-old Rodri who scrambled the ball into the net.

As soon as the Blanquirrojos scored, the Mallorca players collapsed onto the pitch, but the home fans were quick to give their heroes a rousing applause. At the final whistle, Sevilla finish the season on 63 points to secure Champions League football, one point ahead of a heartbroken Mallorca, who came within 30 seconds of qualifying for Europe's blue ribbon club competition