Football has done justice to Deportivo Alaves after Asier Villalibre's penalty deep into stoppage time in extra time secured a return to LaLiga on Saturday, coach Luis Garcia Plaza said a year after the Basque club were relegated.
Alaves and Levante were locked at 0-0 in their promotion playoff second leg, after the first leg also ended goalless a week ago, before Villalibre netted from the spot after a penalty was awarded for handball following a lengthy VAR review. "I think that football has done justice with the promotion of Alaves," an emotional Garcia Plaza said.
"We were better than Levante in this game - at home we were not - we created more chances and came close to scoring on many occasions.""I was calm, I like to take penalties and I always wait for the goalkeeper to move," the 25-year-old striker, on loan from Athletic Bilbao, said.Alaves will join already promoted second-tier champions Granada and runners-up Las Palmas in the top flight.
The 2023-24 LaLiga fixtures will be announced on Thursday. The season will begin on Aug. 11 and end on May 26.