MADRID, Spain -- Athletic Bilbao secured its return to the Champions League next season by winning 3-0 at Rayo Vallecano on Friday to lock up a fourth-place finish in the Spanish league. Air Max 90 Outlet Italia . With Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona destined to take the top three spots, Bilbao fended off Sevillas late surge to seal its return to Europes top-tier competition for the first time since the 1998-99 season. The Basque side qualified for the playoff round to reach the group phase. "When I think back on how difficult this year has been, on how much we have won and lost, and to see this now, we have to enjoy it," Bilbao defender Mikel San Jose said while his teammates celebrated with a large group of their travelling fans. Bilbaos quest of reaching the Champions League was led by coach Ernesto Valverde, a former player who returned to coach the club a second time this summer after the exit of Marcelo Bielsa. Bilbao kept Rayos attack in check while taking advantage of a number of well-executed set pieces. After Mikel Rico and Aritz Aduriz both went close with shots resulting from corner kicks, San Jose acrobatically tapped in a ball from Markel Susaeta in the 20th minute to open the scoring. Forward Oscar de Marcos added a second goal 10 minutes later when he fired in a loose ball from a fourth corner kick, and Ander Herrera curled his free kick around the defensive wall and in off the post in the 74th to cap the win. The match in Madrid was twice delayed due to incidents involving both groups of supporters. The kickoff was 15 minutes late to let the Vallecas Stadium grounds crew clean up a large amount of paper bits Rayos home fans threw onto the pitch while festively celebrating before the game. The game was briefly stopped a second time after a barrier collapse in front of a section of Bilbao supporters following their teams second goal. TV images showed one man with what appeared to be a cut on his head. Another man needed to be carried off the pitch while he held his foot. Air Max 95 Outlet Italia . While the pair of Spain internationals return, midfielder Xavi Hernandez will not be included in the squad after failing to recover from a muscle strain to his left leg. Air Max 95 Outlet . 1-9 on TSN. With more than 65 hours of exclusive live coverage, TSN delivers all the action beginning with Draw 1 on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p. https://www.scontatescarpeoutlet.it/nike-air-max-720-italia-scarpe-outlet-c3266.html . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a course-record 10-under 62 on Wednesday to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Capitals will take aim at a fourth consecutive road victory when they visit the Florida Panthers for Tuesdays clash at BB&T Center. The Capitals enter Tuesday on a 4-0-1 point streak, a stretch that began with a perfect 3-0 road trip. Washington hopes to continue its winning ways on the road tonight when it kicks off another three-game swing that begins a run of six away games in seven outings. Washington hopes to continue its dominance of the Panthers this evening. The Capitals are 10-0-1 in the last 11 encounters in this series overall and Florida has lost four of the last five meetings on home ice. The Caps recently earned a split on a two-game homestand, dropping Thursdays overtime decision against Columbus before downing the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Saturday behind the first career hat trick from Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom scored his sixth, seventh and eighth goals of the season to stake Washington to a 3-0 lead against the Bolts. Tampa tallied twice in the final five minutes of regulation to make it a one-goal game, but Eric Fehr sealed the win for the Caps with an empty-netter at 19:21 of the third. Its a great feeling. It doesnt happen a lot that I score three goals in a game, said Backstrom. It was fun. The biggest thing is that we got two points. That is what we needed. Braden Holtby stopped 26 shots for the win, while Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson each supplied two assists for the Capitals. Washington is holding onto the Metropolitan Divissions third automatic playoff spot, but is only one point ahead of the New York Rangers for that distinction. Scarpe Nike Scontatissime. The Rangers play Tuesday night in Calgary. Florida. which is tied with the Rangers for the last wild card berth in the Eastern Conference, recently went 1-1-1 on a three-game road trip. The Panthers are home for just one night before heading out for road dates in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Panthers have alternated losses and wins since the start of December, owning a 3-2-2 record this month. After beating Detroit in a shootout on Friday, the Panthers were handed a 4-3 overtime setback in Buffalo to close their swing. Florida dug itself out of a 2-0 hole against the Sabres and grabbed a 3-2 lead when Jussi Jokinen scored just 57 seconds into the third period. However, Brian Gionta would even the score for Buffalo at 8:27 of the third before Nikita Zadorov ended the contest just 29 seconds into the extra session. Sean Bergenheim and Jimmy Hayes scored second-period goals for the Panthers. Florida backup Al Montoya made 28 saves, but he failed to stop the only shot he faced in OT. It seems like its common ground these last couple of games in that first period we start digging ourselves a hole, Montoya said. Roberto Luongo expects to return to the starting role for the Panthers tonight. He is 19-10-0 with a 2.29 goals against average in his career against Washington. Holtby is sporting a perfect 6-0 record and a lifetime 2.69 GAA against Florida. ' ' '