Real Wins 1-0 Over Athletic Bilbao, Increasingly Steady at the Top of the Standings

DBasia.news – Real Madrid regained the victory supported by a penalty when they defeated host, Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in the 34th week of the Spanish League match without spectators in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic at the San Mames stadium, Saturday (05/07).

Real Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane played with his flagship formation, 4-3-3. Karim Benzema is again the spearhead of Los Blancos.

Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao played high-speed players like Iker Muniain and Inaki Williams. Meanwhile, Inigo Martinez became the doorstop.

Real Madrid immediately stepped on the pedal. In the 5th minute, Marco Asensio’s free-kick presented a crisis in front of Bilbao’s goal. However, no goal was created.

El Real launched another attack in the 23rd minute. Asensio gave a bait to Rodrygo. Unfortunately, the young player failed to turn the chances into goals.

Athletic Bilbao also did not want to stay silent. Four minutes before the first half ended, Williams built an attack from the middle of the field. However, Eder Militao was quick to stem the attacker’s movements.

Until the first half was over, no goals were created. Athletic Bilbao 0, Real Madrid 0.

At the beginning of the second half or more precisely in the 48th minute, Madrid won a golden opportunity. Luka Modric unleashed a long-range shot. As a result, the long-awaited goal was not created as Unai Simon was still able to be secured.

Simon again became a stumbling block for Real Madrid to score. Entering the 60th minute, Rodrygo passed Yuri and entered the side of the penalty box. With Simon immediately coming out of his nest and caught the ball at Rodrygo’s feet.

Real Madrid received a penalty kick after Marcelo dropped Dani Garcia in the forbidden box in the 71st minute. The referee observed the VAR before deciding.

Sergio Ramos who played as the executioner carried out his duties neatly. He put the ball in the bottom left corner of the goal. That is the captain’s 12th goal this season.

Athletic Bilbao increased the pressure to pursue victory. Raul Garcia had fallen in the penalty box after making contact with Ramos. However, the referee did not budge or checked the VAR.

Until the end of the game, Bilbao’s efforts produced no results. Real Madrid took home three points.

With these results, Real Madrid widened the distance from Barcelona. El Real is now seven points ahead of Barca. Lionel Messi and his colleagues will play the 34th match, Monday (6/7) AM against Villarreal.

Line-up:

Athletic Bilbao (4-4-2): Unai Simon, Ander Capa, Yeray Alvarez (Unai Nunez 21), Inigo Martinez, Yuri, Iker Muniain, Dani Garcia, Unai Lopez (Mikel Vesga 63), Inigo Cordoba (Oscar de Marcos 64), Inaki Williams (Asier Villalibre 78), Raul Garcia (Oihan Sancet 78).

Coach: Gaizka Garitano

Real Madrid (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Eder Militao, Marcelo, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Federico Valverde (Toni Kroos 85); Marco Asensio (Vinicius Junior 74), Karim Benzema (Luka Jovic 90), Rodrygo (Lucas Vazquez 74).

Coach: Zinedine Zidane

Referee: Jose Luis Gonzalez