Five goals. Third place. Marcelino’s last game. Parejo’s last game. Pedraza’s last game. Griezmann’s La Liga career finished on the wrong side of a 5-1 scoreline.
A lot happened at the Cerámica on Sunday.
Atletico came with nine players missing. Giménez out. Álvarez out. Le Normand suspended. Barrios out. Molina out. The squad that arrived in Villarreal was whatever Simeone had left. It showed within the first ten minutes. By half-time the game was done.
Parejo. Penalty. Final Goal. Standing Ovation.
Pepe went down in the box. Musso was judged to have fouled him. Replays showed almost nothing there. Didn’t matter. Penalty given.
Parejo stepped up. Final game. Final goal. He hit it into the corner and ran toward the Villarreal fans. The Cerámica was already loud. It got louder.
He played on until the 65th minute. Then the substitution board went up with his number on it. He walked off slowly. Took in every second. The crowd stood and clapped until he reached the touchline. Pedraza came off at the same moment. Two players who gave years to this club leaving the pitch together for the last time.
Nobody was watching the scoreboard at that point.
Perez Scored Twice. The Second Was Special.
Ayoze Perez scored two. His first was good. His second was better.
Latched onto a Pepe pass nine minutes into the second half. One touch to control. Swerved it past Musso into the far corner. The technique was beautiful. The kind of finish that looks easy and is not.
Villarreal scored five in total. The goals came at 27′, 30′, 34′, 40′, 43′ in the first half and 54′ in the second. By half-time the visitors had nothing left to offer.
Atletico’s xG was 1.01. Villarreal’s was 2.45. The stats told the story before the final whistle came.
Third Place. First Time Since 2007/08.
Villarreal finished third in La Liga. 72 points. Champions League football next season confirmed weeks ago. Today they ended six winless meetings against Atletico in the most decisive way possible.
Marcelino steps down this summer. He leaves with a 5-1 win, a third-place finish, and a standing ovation from a stadium that appreciated what he built here.
The last time Villarreal finished this high was 18 years ago. His players gave him the perfect goodbye.
Griezmann’s Final Day
Antoine Griezmann started. Atletico lost 5-1. His La Liga career ended with that scoreline.
He leaves for Orlando City FC. His 500th appearance and 100th assist came at the Metropolitano last weekend against Girona — that was the official goodbye. Sunday was just the last chapter.
Nobody should judge a great career by a 5-1 loss with nine key teammates unavailable. But it is the last image. Football does not always give you the ending you deserved.
For more La Liga coverage visit FawaNews football. Full final La Liga standings at the official La Liga website.
Villarreal 5-1 Atlético Madrid La Liga Round 38 | Sunday, 24 May 2026 | Estadio de la Cerámica
Goals: Parejo pen | Perez x2 (incl. 54′ swerving finish) | others (VIL) | 1 (ATM)
Villarreal XI: Tenas | Mouriño, Pau Navarro, Rafa Marín, Pedraza | Pépé, Gueye, Parejo, Moleiro | Perez, Mikautadze Subs: Diatta (for Parejo 65′), Cardona (for Pedraza 65′)
Atletico absent: Almada, Mendoza, Cardoso, González, Barrios, Giménez, Molina, Le Normand, Álvarez
Stats: xG VIL 2.45 ATM 1.01 | Shots 14-9 | Possession 47.7%-52.3% | Yellow 0-1
HT: multiple goals | FT: 5-1 Table: Villarreal 3rd (72 pts) | Atletico 4th (69 pts).
