MADRID (AP) — Barcelona capped its title-winning campaign with a 3-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice but falling short of catching Kylian Mbappé as the Spanish league’s top scorer for the season.
Lewandowski found the net in the 14th and 17th minutes in Bilbao to finish the league season with 27 goals, four fewer than Mbappé, who scored twice in Madrid’s 2-0 win against Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Lewandowski, who was out injured in some recent matches, hadn’t scored since April 9 in a Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund. His last league goal had been in March against Girona.
Lewandowski had led the scoring race during most of the season but Mbappé finished with a red-hot run that included 10 goals in his last six matches.
Barcelona finished with a goal-difference of plus 63 after scoring 102 times and conceding 39. It won 28 matches, drew four and lost six.
It ended with 88 points, four points more than second-placed Madrid and 12 points more than third-placed Atletico Madrid.
Athletic had already secured a fourth-placed finish to secure a Champions League spot for the first time in a decade.
‘Under control’
The 36-year-old Lewandowski reached 101 goals in total across all competitions in his three seasons with Barcelona. He had 42 this year after scoring 26 last season and 33 in his debut campaign.
“We had it under control,” Lewandowski said. “This season was almost perfect. We have to enjoy this moment.”
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick praised his team.
“We wanted to finish like we started it, like we performed during the season, and they did a great job,” Flick said.
Levante promoted
Carlos Álvarez scored seven minutes into stoppage time as Levante won 3-2 at Burgos to seal its promotion to the first division three years after being relegated.
Levante rallied for the victory after trailing 2-1 up to the 85th minute. It secured one of the top two spots in the second tier to automatically advance to the first division.
Relegation and European places
Saturday’s matches decided the final European places and the last relegated team. Leganes was demoted after Las Palmas and Valladolid had already been relegated in advance. Celta Vigo grabbed the final Europa League spot and Rayo Vallecano earned the Conference League place.
Barcelona, Madrid, Atletico, Athletic and Villarreal will play in the Champions League next season. Real Betis got the other Europa League spot.
Atletico finished the season with a 4-0 win at Girona with a hat trick by striker Alexander Sorloth. He had scored four goals in a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad earlier this month.
Sorloth, often used as a substitute by Atletico coach Diego Simeone, ended with 20 goals, fourth in the league’s scoring list. Ante Budimir of Osasuna was third with 21 goals, six fewer than Lewandowski and 10 fewer than Mbappé.
Fifth-placed Villarreal beat 17th-placed Sevilla 4-2 with a pair of goals by Pape Gueye.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
