Federico Valverde delivered a stunning stoppage-time volley to hand Real Madrid a dramatic 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday, ensuring they remain just four points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona.
The visitors, fielding a significantly rotated squad, held off Madrid for most of the match.
However, Valverde broke the deadlock three minutes into added time, capitalizing on a failed clearance and rifling a brilliant volley into the top far corner.
Earlier, Vinicius Junior believed he had opened the scoring for the hosts with a composed low finish, but VAR intervened in the 79th minute, ruling out the goal due to an offside against Endrick during the buildup.
The narrow win marked a strong response from Madrid following their midweek Champions League elimination by Arsenal.
They now sit on 69 points, extending their gap over third-placed Atletico Madrid to six after Diego Simeone’s side suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at Las Palmas on Saturday.
