Griezmann strike secures third place for Barca in La Liga

An acrobatic late effort from Antoine Griezmann saw Barcelona confirm a third-placed finish in La Liga for the season, as they crept past already relegated Eibar 1-0 on Saturday.

Coach Ronald Koeman named a much-changed starting XI, with Lionel Messi, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba and Pedri all absent, and initially it showed in a somewhat disjointed first half.

Defender Oscar Mingueza was required to make a crucial block early on after Frenkie de Jong lost the ball in a dangerous area in an otherwise uneventful first 45 minutes.

With the game seemingly destined for a draw, it sparked to life in the closing stages.

On 81 minutes Griezmann smashed in from an acute angle following good work from Ousmane Dembele.

Barca were given a scare four minutes from time when Takashi Inui saw an effort smash back off the crossbar, however the Catalans held out to secure the three points.

They end the campaign on 79 points, seven behind champions Atletico Madrid and five off second-placed Real Madrid.