Sporting Gijon escape relegation in Spain; Getafe demoted

BARCELONA: Sporting Gijon defeated Villarreal 2-0 to escape relegation from the Spanish top tier after Getafe lost 2-1 at Real Betis on Sunday.

Rayo Vallecano beat last-placed Levante 2-1 but was demoted anyway. Levante was already relegated.

Sporting entered the final round tied with Getafe on 36 points, but trailed on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Midfielder Jony opened the scoring in the eighth minute and Sergio Alvarez sealed Sporting's home win in the 79th.

A victory would have saved Getafe but it trailed throughout the game against Betis.

Rayo won but needed Sporting to stumble to remain in the top flight.

Sporting finished with 39 points, one more than Rayo and three more than Getafe. Levante ended with 32 points.

Barcelona won the Spanish league title on Saturday.