European football: Kvaratskhelia powers PSG to Ligue 1 title at Lens

Paris Saint-Germain secured a fifth successive Ligue 1 title by beating their nearest challengers, Lens, 2-0 in their penultimate match of the league season on Wednesday.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored after 29 minutes and the substitute Ibrahim Mbaye grabbed a stoppage-time goal to put PSG on 76 points, out of the reach of Lens, who are assured of second place on 67 points.

The Paris club, who will play in the Champions League final later this month against Arsenal, were all but assured of the title going into the fixture with a six-point lead over their opponents and a vastly superior goal difference but needed one more point to make sure.

It is PSG’s 14th Ligue 1 title and strengthens their status as the most successful club in the league’s history.

In Italy, Inter comfortably beat Lazio 2-0 in the Coppa Italia final at the Stadio Olimpico as Adam Marusic’s own goal and Lautaro Martínez’s strike clinched the double for the newly crowned Serie A champions.

A 14th-minute corner provided the breakthrough for Inter when it reached an unmarked Marusic, who misjudged a defensive header and instead sent the ball into his own net.

Lazio’s defensive jitters continued 10 minutes before the break when a lapse in concentration from Nuno Tavares allowed Marcus Thuram to snatch possession deep in the Lazio half before sliding a low cross in for Martínez to tap home and double Inter’s lead.

Despite both sides having opportunities after the interval the result felt inevitable in the closing stages, with frustration boiling over into a brief scuffle between the players before the final whistle.

Meanwhile, in La Liga, Ibrahim Diabate scored the only goal as Alavés claimed a precious 1-0 win over Barcelona, the newly crowned champions, to move out of the relegation zone in what is an increasingly ferocious battle to avoid the drop.

Alavés took the lead in injury time at the end of the first half when Barcelona failed to clear a corner. As Antonio Blanco headed back towards the six-yard box, the on-loan forward Diabate finished from close range.

Alavés climb to 15th place with 40 points from 36 games, while there were also important wins for Sevilla and Espanyol. But with only five points separating Real Sociedad in eighth and Girona in 19th, plenty of clubs remain in peril with two rounds remaining.

Martén Satriano scored twice as seventh-placed Getafe secured another season in the top flight with a 3-1 home win against Mallorca that ensured their safety, but left their opponents only outside the drop zone on goal difference.

Four clubs, from Girona to Elche in 16th place, all have 39 points, though the former have a game in hand as they host Sociedad on Thursday.

Real Oviedo were the first team to be relegated earlier this week despite not kicking a ball when other results meant they fell 10 points from safety with three matches left to play. But 12 sides remain mathematically in the relegation mix.

Sevilla climbed to 10th, four points above the drop zone, with a 3-2 win at third-placed Villarreal in a massive boost to their survival hopes. They had to do it the hard way as they fell 2-0 behind after 20 minutes, but goals from Oso and Kike Salas had them level at half-time before Akor Adams scored his 10th league goal of the season to earn three precious points on 72 minutes.

Espanyol moved three points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-0 home win against Athletic Bilbao, at the same time putting a dent in the latter’s hopes of European football next season. Pere Milla put the home side ahead on 69 minutes before Kike García added a second in added time.