Iniesta and Torres say goodbye as Spanish football season ends

Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 10:50:51|Editor: Yamei
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(SP)SPAIN-BARCELONA-SPANISH LEAGUE-CEREMONY

FC Barcelona's Andres Iniesta is thrown into the air by his teammates at the farewell ceremony after a Spanish league match between FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad in Barcelona, Spain, on May 20, 2018. Barcelona won 1-0. It was the last Spanish league match that Andres Iniesta played as team captain at the Camp Nou stadium. (Xinhua/Joan Gosa)

MADRID, May 20 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona ended their double winning season and said goodbye to veteran midfielder Andres Iniesta with a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday night.

Philippe Coutinho, who was signed to replace the 34-year-old, scored the only goal of the game ahead of the ceremony which saw Barcelona presented with the La Liga title and an emotional Iniesta make his goodbye speech in which he thanked everyone for their "respect and affection."

"All I can say is that I will have you in my hearts forever," Iniesta said.

Fernando Torres was another player saying goodbye and he scored twice in his last game in Spain as he finishes his time with Atletico Madrid on an emotional evening in the Wanda Metropolitano stadium.

Torres' goals were not enough to give Atletico the win as Eibar managed a respectable 2-2 draw thanks to goals from Kike Garcia and Ruben Garcia.

Valencia ended a season which has seen them finish fourth on the table with a 2-1 win against Deportivo la Coruna with goals from Simone Zaza and Goncalo Guedes.

Athletic Club Bilbao coach Kuko Ziganda did not enjoy such a happy goodbye, however as his last game in charge ended in a 1-0 home defeat to Espanyol which just about summed up his season in charge in San Mames.

Real Madrid on Saturday warmed up for next weekend's Champions League final as they showed both sides of their game with a 2-2 draw away to Villarreal.

The first half saw Real Madrid open a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Gareth Bale, who strengthened his claim to start in Kiev with a smart right foot finish, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who netted a glancing header to show he has recovered from the ankle injury he suffered against Barcelona.

Perhaps with their mind on next week's final, Madrid then relaxed and the home side got back into the games with a goal from Roger Martinez before Samu Castellejo equalized in the closing minutes after Marcelo made a mess of springing the offside trap.

Iago Aspas finishes the season as the top scoring Spaniard with 22 goals after he and Maxi Gomez scored two goals each as Celta Vigo ended a disappointing campaign with a 4-2 win at home to Levante, whose two goals came from Ruben Rochina and Jose Luis Morales.

There was a happy goodbye for Leganes coach Asier Garitano after his side beat Betis, despite seeing Diego Rico sent off in the first half of their 3-2 win thanks to goals from Dimitrios Siovas, Naranjo and Nordin Amrabat.

Malaga's miserable season ended with just 20 points following a 1-0 home defeat to Getafe, who won thanks to a Loric Remy penalty, while Las Palmas go down with just 21 points after Christian Stuani's 20th and 21st goals of the campaign gave Girona a 2-1 win in the Canary Islands.

Wissam Ben Yedder's first half goal allowed Sevilla to defeat Alaves 1-0 to allow Joaquin Caparros to leave with three wins and a draw from his four games back in charge after 13 years away from the club.

KEY WORDS: FC Barcelona
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