Carlo Ancelotti’s side once again relied on late-game drama to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

Federico Valverde smashed home a stunning volley deep into stoppage time to give Real Madrid a hard-earned 1-0 win over Athletic Club on Sunday. Frustrated for much of the match, Madrid lacked bite in the final third — but Valverde’s thunderbolt added yet another highlight to his growing reel of spectacular strikes and ensured the three points stayed in the capital.

Los Blancos looked flat for long stretches, creating few clear chances and struggling to break down a stubborn Athletic side. The hosts finally threatened 50 minutes in, when Eduardo Camavinga forced a smart save from Unai Simon after a slick counterattack. Moments later, Jude Bellingham nearly broke the deadlock, racing onto a brilliant Vinicius Jr. trivela pass and testing Simon again.

Vinicius thought he had won it with 10 minutes remaining after a cut, weave and tidy near-post finish – but his clever strike was ruled out after substitute Endrick was adjudged offside in the build-up. Bellingham also had a golden chance to find a winner at the death, but poked over the bar after a clever touch in the box.

GOAL rates Madrid’s players from Santiago Bernabeu…

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Goalkeeper & Defence

Thibaut Courtois (6/10):

Bar one second-half save, could have spent the rest of the game sleeping, in all honesty. Will take the clean sheet, though.

Federico Valverde (8/10):

Absolutely tireless on the right wing. Defended well, came close to scoring all night, and then bashed one in. Wonderful.

Raul Asencio (6/10):

Made a couple of nice recoveries, and was caught in an intriguing duel with substitute Sannadi in the second half.

Antonio Rudiger (7/10):

Won his headers, kept his cool, and shepherded the backline.

Eduardo Camavinga (6/10):

Kept it pretty simple at the back. Didn’t have much to do until Inaki Williams came on.

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Midfield

Aurelien Tchouameni (7/10):

Won more tackles than anyone else, and showed a bit more ball progression than in recent weeks.

Dani Ceballos (6/10):

A tidy hour. Completed the most passes out of everyone on the pitch before he was replaced.

Luka Modric (7/10):

Created the most chances in the match, and made it all look very good. Slower contests suit him so much more these days.

Jude Bellingham (6/10):

Not really in the game until late on, when he missed a couple of good chances. Covered plenty of ground for Modric, though.

 

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Attack

Rodrygo (5/10):

Ducked and weaved for 80 minutes without creating a clear chance.

Vinicius Jr (7/10):

Ran at his man all evening. Saw a truly wonderful goal unfortunately ruled out after an offside in the build-up.

 

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Subs & Manager

Endrick (6/10):

Lively, but isn’t suited to a lone No.9 role.

Brahim Diaz (N/A):

Probably introduced a bit too late.

Arda Guler (N/A):

No time to make an impact.

Lucas Vazquez (N/A):

His introduction allowed Valverde to get further forward, which eventually led to the goal.

Carlo Ancelotti (7/10):

Went with his strongest available XI while Mbappe was suspended. Madrid were poor for most of the game, but turned it on late – and were ultimately good value for the win. The title race remains on.