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Athletic Bilbao celebrates Copa trophy before being held to 1-1 draw by Villarreal in Spanish league

Sun, Apr 14, 2024
Soccer News (AP)

MADRID (AP) - Villarreal cast a shadow over Athletic Bilbao's Copa del Rey trophy celebrations by scoring deep into stoppage time to earn a 1-1 draw in the Spanish league on Sunday.

Athletic won its first Copa in four decades last weekend with a win over Mallorca, with the club presenting the trophy to its fans ahead of Sunday's match at San Mames Stadium. Villarreal players made a guard of honor before the match.

The hosts were winning until video review determined there was a handball inside the area five minutes into stoppage time, and Villarreal playmaker Dani Parejo converted the penalty kick to seal the draw.

Oihan Sancet had put Athletic ahead in the 66th, some 20 minutes after Villarreal went a man down when Santiago Comesana was sent off with a second yellow card for a foul.

"We don't understand the call for the penalty," Sancet said. "We had the win until the last play of the match."

Athletic's Copa celebrations lasted several days in Basque Country with players, coaches and staff parading in front of fans on the banks of Bilbao's River Nervion on Thursday.

The draw hurt Athletic's chances of fighting for the final Champions League spot. It's four points behind fourth-place Atletico Madrid with seven games remaining. Atletico beat third-place Girona 3-1 on Saturday.

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Villarreal moved to ninth place with the away draw.

Leader Real Madrid won 1-0 at at Mallorca on Saturday, while second-place Barcelona won 1-0 at Cadiz to stay eight points behind the rival.

Sixth-place Real Sociedad hosted last-place Almeria later Sunday.

SEVILLA WINS

Sevilla moved even further away from the relegation zone with a 2-0 win at Las Palmas. Youssef En-Nesyri and Dodi Lukebakio scored in each half.

Sevilla's second win in a row - both away - left the club in 13th place, nine points from the relegation zone.

Las Palmas, sitting 12th, is winless in seven straight matches. It has lost five of those games, including the last four in a row.

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TALES AZZONI Azzoni is a sports reporter based in Madrid in charge of Spain and Portugal for The Associated Press. He has covered multiple World Cups and Olympic Games for the AP, as well as other major sporting events worldwide. twitter mailto "

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