Sevilla on brink of Champions League

Sevilla homed in on Champions League qualification with a 3-1 comeback win over Real Mallorca on Saturday to pull seven points clear of fourth-placed Valencia.

Aritz Aduriz put Mallorca ahead on the quarter-hour mark but Sevilla responded with a Freddy Kanoute penalty before second-half goals from Luis Fabiano and Jesus Navas sealed victory.

It was Sevilla’s first home win since late March and they will hope Real Madrid do them a favour against Valencia in Saturday’s late match.

“We are close to our objective (third place) and this win guarantees that we will be third until the penultimate weekend of the season,” said Sevilla coach Manolo Jimenez.

“It would be tough on our fans if we didn’t finish third.”

Elsewhere, Athletic Bilbao warmed up for Wednesday’s King’s Cup final against Barcelona with a 1-0 win over troubled Real Betis.

Ion Velez scored the only goal of the game in the 29th minute to boost Bilbao’s hopes for the Barcelona challenge.

Bilbao will start as strong underdogs, but have a great record in the domestic cup, winning it on 24 occasions, although this will be their first final since 1985.

“We have to have faith in ourselves and if we are fortunate enough to win we will also have the satisfaction of beating the best team in the world,” said Bilbao coach Joaquin Caparros.

For Betis, staying in the league is the only priority with the Seville-based club just three points above the relegation zone.

Champions Real are in action later at Valencia as they try to forget their nightmare 6-2 home drubbing by Barcelona in last Saturday’s ‘El Clasico’.

With Barcelona now seven points ahead, and with just 12 points to play for, the title race looks over and should Real fail to beat Valencia, Barca could win the championship on Sunday with a home victory over Villarreal.

Valencia have a lot at stake against Real as they try to hold onto fourth place with Atletico Madrid and Villarreal both just a point behind.

Real captain Raul was in the headlines this week after megabucks Manchester City made an ambitious move to lure him to England from the Spanish capital.

“Manchester City have made contact through my agent Gines Carvajal. But I’ve not really considered it because I would be mad to leave here,” Raul told sports daily Marca. “I’m only interested in finishing my career with Real.”

Raul is a symbol of Real after winning six league titles and three Champions League crowns there in a glittering career spanning 15 years.

However, changes are expected at Real this summer and former Real legend Zinedine Zidane says the club must pull out all the stops to sign French international Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich.

“Real have to do everything possible to get Ribery,” explained Zidane.

Barcelona are also said to be interested in winger Ribery but at the moment they have more pressing matters as they target a historic treble.

Last week was memorable for Pep Guardiola’s side, who crushed Real to put one hand on the title and then scraped past Chelsea into the Champions League final with a last-gasp goal.

The final part of their treble tilt is the King’s Cup final against Bilbao on Wednesday at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium.