Sevilla In, Mallorca Out Of Champions League After Late Rios Goal

Almería looked to have done enough to get a point against Sevilla, the result set to keep the Rojiblancos out of next year’s UEFA Champions League. Mallorca’s 2-0 lead over Espanyol at the ONO Estadi would put the Barralets on 62 points, enough for fourth place should the result hold up at the Estadio del Meditarráneo.

But then, while Mallorca players watched their stadium’s big screen from the field, Sevilla’s Rodrigo Ríos’s overhead kick in the 93rd minute broke the 2-2 tie in Alermía and put Sevilla into UEFA Champions League, their 3-2 win giving them 63 points and fourth place.

Jesus Navas had broken down the right flank to get a cross in toward the far post. Center half Sebastien Squillaci’s lifted right leg redirected the cross back to the near post, where Ríos was able to turn on the ball and beat goalkeeper Guilherme into the upper 90.

It was the third time in the game Sevilla has taken the lead. Their initial goal - a Frederic Kanouté header in the 16th minute - was equalized by Fernando Soriano minutes before half. An Almería own goal in 53rd minute was cancelled out by a spectacular Juanma Ortíz 79th minute bender, by which time Sevilla was playing without the dismissed Alvaro Negredo.

Meanwhile, Mallorca had control of their match with Espanyol, going ahead in the 24th minute through Victor Casadesus, adding the match’s final goal in the 78th when Mario Saurez volleyed home a corner kick. When the final whistle blew, the Mallorca players gathered in the middle of the pitch to watch the affairs in Almería, an oversized bottle of champagne brought onto the pitch for the likely celebration.

Minutes later, Mallorca watched Ríos rip off this jersey and spring into a front flip, celebrating Sevilla’s fourth place winning goal. With the official’s whistle blowing almost immediately after the ensuing kick-off, the players at the ONO were left devastated, one lying face down in the grass next to the unopened bottle.

Mallorca, ninth place finishers last season, will play in next year’s Europa League while Sevilla goes into UEFA Champions League qualifying.