FC Barcelona close in on League and Cup double

MADRID, April 22 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona need just one point from their visit to Deportivo la Coruna next weekend to become La Liga Champions and complete a League and Cup double.

Ernesto Valverde's side beat Sevilla 5-0 in the final of the Copa del Rey on Saturday and then watched as Betis drew 0-0 away to Atletico Madrid on Sunday night.

Barcelona totally outplayed Sevilla in the Wanda Metropolitano and lifted the title for the fourth consecutive year thanks to two goals from Luis Suarez and further efforts from Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Philippe Coutinho.

Betis continued their excellent run of form and claimed their fifth consecutive clean sheet in an entertaining game which ended 0-0 away to Atletico Madrid.

A draw was probably a fair result, but both sides deserved to score in a game which was more entertaining than the score suggests.

Elsewhere, Valencia drew 1-1 away to Celta Vigo in the Balaidos Stadium in a result which edges them closer to securing a top-four finish, while complicating Celta's chance of finishing in the top-seven, which will now assure a place in Europe.

Former Celta striker Santi Mina put Valencia ahead just before the hour, before Maxi Gomez ended a seven-game drought with the equalizing goal soon after.

Getafe have a good chance of qualifying for Europe following a 1-0 win away to Eibar. The only goal of a poor game was Mathias Olivera's 23rd minute header.

Espanyol did Getafe a big favor when the first game with new manager David Gallego on the bench ended with a 2-0 win in Girona.

Pau Lopez had a fine display in goal for Espanyol, while Gerard Moreno's 13th and 14th goals of the season confirmed the win.

Real Sociedad also wasted a gilt edged chance to put the pressure on seventh place as they crashed to a surprise 2-0 defeat away to Malaga.

Malaga's relegation to the second division was confirmed on Thursday night, but Real Sociedad failed to muster more than one timid header on the home side's goal and were hurt by first half strikes from Adrian Gonzalez and Youssif En Neysri.

Las Palmas join Malaga in the second division next season after suffering a 4-0 defeat at home to Alaves, for whom the win mathematically assures another season in the top flight.

After a goalless first half, the Basque side destroyed Las Palmas with two goals from top scorer, Munir and further strikes from Alvaro Medran and Ruben Soriano.

Friday night saw Deportivo la Coruna draw 0-0 away to Leganes, a result which stretches Deportivo's unbeaten run to four games but leaves them firmly in the relegation zone. Enditem