Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde netted an outstanding late volley to safe a 1-0 residence win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday that retains them inside 4 factors of LaLiga leaders Barcelona.
Real bounced again after their midweek Champions League exit by the hands of Arsenal to maneuver as much as 69 factors, six away from third-placed Atletico Madrid, who suffered a shock 1-0 loss at Las Palmas on Saturday.
A closely rotated Athletic aspect had saved the hosts at bay till Valverde scored the winner three minutes into stoppage time, pouncing on a poor clearance to fireside a volley into the far prime nook.
“Fede has a very unusual shot, a very good one,” Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois mentioned. “Yesterday in coaching he kicked a ball that appeared prefer it was going vast and out of the blue it took a spin and also you assume… How did you kick that? It’s very sharp, quick and highly effective.
“In training he easily does one or two like that a week. We’ve been telling him for years: ‘shoot, shoot’.”
Vinicius Junior thought he had handed Real the lead with a low shot, however the 79th-minute effort was disallowed by the VAR for an Endrick offside within the construct up.
After an uneventful first half, Jude Bellingham had Real’s first clear scoring probability with a close-range header, however goalkeeper Unai Simon made an excellent save on the hour mark to maintain the scores degree.
Fresh off reaching the Europa League semi-finals, Athletic stayed disciplined in defence, irritating Real for a lot of the match, however failing to create scoring possibilities of their very own.
Athletic’s resistance lastly broke and the late defeat leaves them fourth within the standings with 57 factors.
“We played well, we defended until the end, but we know what Real Madrid are like at the Bernabeu,” Athletic’s Alex Berenguer informed LaLiga TV.
“I think the team responded well. Whoever plays, we do well, but they are a great team and they get you into the box and it’s difficult.”
Source: www.anews.com.tr