MADRID—Real Betis were condemned to the final Primera Liga relegation spot when they drew 1-1 at home to Real Valladolid in a nail-bighting final round of matches on Sunday.
Betis and four other teams were in danger of joining relegated Recreativo Huelva and Numancia but it was the Seville-based side who failed at the last hurdle after seven seasons in the top flight.
Superb comeback wins for Osasuna and Sporting Gijon and a battling draw for Getafe kept them up and Valladolid's point also ensured their safety.
Passions were running high at the Ruiz de Lopera in Seville after the final whistle and police had to intervene to prevent angry fans getting into the VIP area and clashed with supporters outside the stadium.
Television pictures showed fans blocking the streets with rubbish bins and local media reported that the stadium was bombarded with bottles and stones and several fans were hurt.
Marcos Aguirre had put Valladolid in front in first-half stoppage time before striker Ricardo de Oliveira equalised four minutes after the break.
Edu hit the Valladolid crossbar with around 20 minutes left and Sergio Asenjo produced a fine save to deny Oliveira in the dying seconds but the visitors held out.
Osasuna, in the relegation places at the start of play, inflicted a fifth straight defeat on Real Madrid when they came back from a goal down to win 2-1 in Pamplona.
Juanfran scored the winner with a stunning volley from the edge of the area after Jaroslav Plasil's tame shot slipped through the hands of Iker Casillas to cancel out Gonzalo Higuain's opener.
Sporting Gijon fell behind to Recreativo in the 23rd minute but came storming back with goals from David Barral and Luis Moran, while in Santander, Racing went ahead through a Toni Moral strike before Getafe's Esteban Granero equalised.
Getafe finished level on 42 points with Betis but stayed up due to a superior goal difference. Sporting, Osasuna and Valladolid all ended on 43.
HIGHEST TALLY
Earlier, a hat-trick from captain Raul Tamudo gave Espanyol a 3-0 win over eighth-placed Malaga to move the Barcelona-based club up to 10th.
It was Espanyol's eighth win in their last 10 matches, a run that saved them from relegation, and the final game at the Olympic Stadium before their move to Cornella-El Prat.
Sevilla, assured of third place and a spot in next season's Champions League, won 2-0 at Numancia.
Treble winners Barcelona ended the season with a 1-1 draw at Deportivo Coruna on Saturday which took them to 87 points from 38 matches, their highest ever tally.
They also scored their most ever goals in a season and with 105 fell just two short of Real Madrid's record of 107 in 1989-90. Real finished on 78 points in second and Sevilla on 70.
Atletico Madrid's 3-0 home win over Almeria on Saturday secured them a Champions League qualifying place and Villarreal (fifth), Valencia (sixth) and King's Cup runners-up Athletic Bilbao go into the new Europa League.
Primera Liga Results and Standings
Numancia v Sevilla 0-2Osasuna v Real Madrid 2-1
Racing Santander v Getafe 1-1
Espanyol v Malaga 3-0
Real Betis v Real Valladolid 1-1
Sporting Gijon v Recreativo Huelva 2-1
Atletico Madrid v Almeria 3-0
Deportivo Coruna v Barcelona 1-1
Real Mallorca v Villarreal 2-3
Valencia v Athletic Bilbao 2-0
La Liga Standings P W D L F A Pts
1 Barcelona 38 27 6 5 105 35 87 (Champions League)2 Real Madrid 38 25 3 10 83 52 78 (Champions League)
3 Sevilla 38 21 7 10 54 39 70 (Champions League)
4 Atletico Madrid 38 20 7 11 80 57 67 (Champions League qualifying)
5 Villarreal 38 18 11 9 61 54 65 (Europa League)
6 Valencia 38 18 8 12 68 54 62 (Europa League)
7 Deportivo Coruna 38 16 10 12 48 47 58
8 Malaga 38 15 10 13 55 59 55
9 Real Mallorca 38 14 9 15 53 60 51
10 Espanyol 38 12 11 15 46 49 47
11 Almeria 38 13 7 18 45 61 46
12 Racing Santander 38 12 10 16 49 48 46
13 Athletic Bilbao 38 12 8 18 47 62 44 (Europa League)
14 Sporting Gijon 38 14 1 23 47 79 43
15 Osasuna 38 10 13 15 41 47 43
16 Real Valladolid 38 12 7 19 46 58 43
17 Getafe 38 10 12 16 50 56 42
18 Real Betis 38 10 12 16 51 58 42 (Relegated)
19 Numancia 38 10 5 23 38 69 35 (Relegated)
20 Recreativo Huelva 38 8 9 21 34 57 33 (Relegated)
1-3: Champions League / EC I
4: Champions League preliminary round
5-6: UEFA Cup
18-20: Relegation
Primera Liga Honours 2008-09 Season
Primera Liga champions: Barcelona (Champions League)Runners-up: Real Madrid (Champions League)
Third: Sevilla (Champions League)
Fourth: Atletico Madrid (Champions League qualifying)
Fifth: Villarreal (Europa League)
Sixth: Valencia (Europa League)
Relegated: Recreativo Huelva, Numancia, Real Betis
King's Cup winners: Barcelona (runners-up Athletic Bilbao go into Europa League)
Promoted: To be decided
Top scorers:
Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid) 32 goalsSamuel Eto'o (Barcelona) 30
David Villa (Valencia) 28
