Real Madrid 1-0 Athletic Bilbao: Match review | OneFootball

Real Madrid remain in the hunt for La Liga by the barest of margins, thanks to a late win against Athletic Bilbao on matchday 32 of the competition on Sunday. A stunning goal by Federico Valverde in stoppage time was the difference as the Whites won 1-0 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

The match began with Real Madrid dominating the ball but there seemed like a cautious tactical approach on Carlo Ancelotti’s part. They kept possession well but were far from creative with sideways passing being a recurring theme for much of the rather boring first 45 minutes.

The second half was a different story, however, as Los Blancos came in firing on all cylinders and created a number of chances very early on. Unai Simon made some very good saves while Rodrygo Goes came particularly close to opening the scoring although his shot drifted just wide of goal.

Vinicius Junior finally seemed to have broken the deadlock on the 80th minute of proceedings as he danced away from two Bilbao players before powering a finish past Simon although a VAR check deemed that Endrick was offside in the build-up, resulting in the Brazilian’s strike getting chalked off.

A lot of relentless pressure in the final third by the hosts finally paid off three minutes into stoppage time as Valverde latched onto a loose ball on the right side of the box and then thundered a brilliant strike into top right corner to send the Bernabeu into delirium as he kept Los Blancos alive in the title race.

The Whites could have won by a few more goals although Ancelotti will pick up a lot of positives from what his team showed on the pitch. Real Madrid put in one of their most disciplined defensive displays of the season and it was no surprise given how much success a 4-4-2 brought them last season.

The manager called it his favourite formation in the post-match press conference, thereby hinting that he could stick with it against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday. Perhaps, Rodrygo Goes, who is in a barren run of form, will make way for Kylian Mbappe in the showpiece event at the weekend.

With six games to go, the league title remains a possibility for the defending champions, who must win all their remaining matches and hope for Barcelona to drop a point in another fixture barring El Clasico. Up next for the Merengues is a trip across town to Getafe on Wednesday prior to the Kings Cup final.