Real Madrid 1-0 Athletic: a great goal by Fede Valverde saves the Whites at the last minute

Real Madrid suffered greatly to defeat an Athletic Club with a majority of substitutes at the Santiago Bernabéu (1-0). Carlo Ancelotti's team is now 4 points behind FC Barcelona again with 6 matchdays to go. A great goal from Fede Valverde, in the 90+3 minute, kept the 'merengues' alive.

The match showed two completely opposite sides. Slow, predictable and monotonous in the first half. Vibrant and with many chances in the second half. Madrid was obliged to win to stay alive in the fight for the title, while Athletic reserved their best men after qualifying for the 'semis' of the Europa League.

The Whites came from two consecutive defeats at home, against Valencia (1-2) and Arsenal (1-2). With barely one victory in their last five matches, Madrid almost suffered total shipwreck in a week to forget.

Sterile dominance of a Madrid without ideas in the first half

The first half was of absolute 'merengue' dominance, but with barely one shot on goal and a couple of goal chances. Carlo Ancelotti's team tilted the field to the left, continuously looking for Vinicius to harm the Bilbao defense.

Without Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham was once again placed as an attacking midfielder, but the Englishman did not have much participation in the match. Rodrygo, on the other hand, was very active, entering and leaving the area to try to associate with 'Vini'.

The '7' was the protagonist of the best play of the first half. In the 30th minute, the Brazilian recovered a ball in midfield and accelerated fully to leave three rivals behind. On the edge of the area he took a very powerful shot that grazed the crossbar.

It was the only spark of a predictable Madrid, without depth with Camavinga and Fede Valverde as full-backs. Ahtletic, for its part, did its job, retreated in its own field to try to do damage on some counterattack.

Madrid improved in the second half

After the break, the Whites came out with greater intensity in search of the first goal of the night. Rodrygo, with a crossed shot that grazed the base of the post, together with Camavinga, who forced a corner after a good counterattack, worried Unai Simón's goal as soon as the teams returned from the locker room.

However, the initial 'merengue' momentum faded and Carlo Ancelotti had no choice but to use the bench. The Italian took Dani Ceballos off for Endrick. With less presence in midfield, Athletic found more spaces to hurt on the counterattack.

In the 58th minute, a quick long ball allowed Álex Berenguer to assist Unai Gómez, but Courtois responded safely to the Basque winger's crossed shot. Madrid responded with two very clear chances from Bellingham with his head, one cleared by Unai with a great save and another deflected next to the post.

Ernesto Valverde also tweaked his lineup with the entries of Iñaki Williams and Oihan Sancet, in addition to Maroan Sannadi. Three forwards to try to strike the blow at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Madrid stays alive in LaLiga by a miracle

The locals warned again with a shot from Valderde to the side of the net, while the 'lions' almost surprised the white defense with a long ball where Asencio almost lost the one-on-one against the newly entered Sannadi.

Madrid continued to create danger on the left, but the Athletic center-backs managed to resist the white siege. Maroan, for his part, continued to create problems for the 'merengue' defense. In the 75th minute, the forward made Asencio get booked, after a hard tackle from the center-back to cut a very dangerous counterattack.

In the 80th minute, Vinicius scored a great goal, but Endrick, previously ahead, participated in the play and the VAR intervened to cancel the goal. In the end, Fede Valverde appeared with a great goal in added time to give the three points to a Madrid that deserved to win.

The Uruguayan, on the third attempt, found revenge by fishing a loose ball on the right side of the area. With a perfect volley, from the right, the '8' put it in the corner, impossible for Unai Simón.

Next Saturday is the Copa del Rey final at La Cartuja, which could be the definitive blow for a team that suffers more and more to get favorable results. Before, the 'merengues' will visit Getafe (Wednesday), while Barça hosts Mallorca on Tuesday.

Match sheet: Real Madrid 1-0 Athletic Club

• Real Madrid, 1: Courtois; Valverde, Rudiger, Asencio (Lucas Vázquez, min. 82), Camavinga; Tchouaméni, Ceballos (Endrick, min. 58), Modric (Güler, min. 78); Bellingham, Rodrygo (Brahim, min. 78) and Vinicius.
• Athletic, 0: Unai Simón; Adama (Vivian, min. 87), Núñez, Paredes, Gorosabel; Vesga, Prados; Berenguer (Sancet, min. 62), Unai Gómez (Lekue, min. 72), Djaló (Iñaki Williams, min. 62); Guruzeta (Sannadi, min. 62).
• Goals: 1-0, Fede Valverde (min. 90+3).
• Referee: Martínez Munuera. Booked Unai Núñez for Athletic. Also Raúl Asencio for Real Madrid.
• Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu.
• Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 32 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25.