SPAIN: Barcelona took runners-up spot behind champions Valencia despite a 2-1 defeat at Real Zaragoza after Carlos Queiroz's Real Madrid continued their late season meltdown with a 4-1 defeat at home to Real Sociedad.

With Deportivo Coruna winning 1-0 at Racing Santander on the final day of the season, Real were condemned to fourth-place after slumping to a record fifth defeat in a row. Real took just three points from their last eight games, while

Barcelona made up 20 points on their arch-rivals in the second half of the season. Sevilla joined Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Cup with a 1-0 win at home to Osasuna.

FRANCE: Olympique Lyon clinched their third consecutive French title when they beat Lille 3-0 at home in the final round of the Ligue 1 season yesterday. Paris St Germain secured a direct Champions League berth thanks to a 1-0 win at Bastia. Monaco finished third four points behind Lyon and face having to go through Champions League qualifying unless they beat FC Porto in this season's final in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday.

GERMANY: Bayern Munich secured a Champions League spot with a 2-0 victory over SC Freiburg on Saturday in their final Bundesliga game of the season and their last under coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. The outgoing champions finish runners-up to Werder Bremen and will enter the group phase of Europe's premier event. Bayer Leverkusen snatched third place and a ticket to the qualifying round of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over VfB Stuttgart, who will have to be content with fourth place and a UEFA Cup spot.