Real Madrid did enough to end the year with another crucial La Liga victory.
Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao in their La Liga game on Wednesday. The Blancos extended their lead to eight points as they bagged the three points at San Mames.
Benzema is unplayable!
Real Madrid stunned their opponents early on as they immediately started attacking. Following a pass from Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema opened the scoring with a magical curled shot in the fourth minute.
It took the French star only three more minutes to complete his brace. A defensive blunder from Bilbao defenders provided Benzema with a one-on-one situation. The striker started his run as soon as he got the ball and defeated the keeper with a precise shot.
Bilbao reacted quickly after conceding the second goal. Real Madrid players took too long to put Oihan Sancet under pressure behind the box. Following a simple pass from Oscar de Marcos, the striker made it 2-1 in the tenth minute. The shot hit the post before finding its way into the back of the net.
Bilbao pushed hard to get the equalizer during the rest of the game. However, they were close to conceding more goals due to Real Madrid’s dangerous counter-attacks. Kroos came the closest to extending the Blancos’ lead in the extra time, but Agirrezabala denied him with a double save.
Three early goals decided the game at San Mames while Real Madrid showed dominance for most of the game. The Spanish giants are now eight points ahead of Sevilla at the top of the table. They will continue their La Liga campaign with a game against Getafe on January 2.
On the other hand, Bilbao remain in tenth place. However, their position might worsen if Espanyol, Granada, or Osasuna win their games. Next up for the Basque side is a game against Osasuna.
Player Ratings
Athletic Bilbao: Agirrezabala (6); De Marcos (6), Alvarez (5), Nunez (5), Balenziaga (6); Zarraga (6), Garcia (6), Vencedor (6), Muniain (7); Williams (6), Sancet (7).
Bench: Serano (6), Williams (5), Lekue (6), Garcia (6).
Real Madrid: Courtois (6); Vazquez (6), Militao (7), Nacho (7), Mendy (6); Valverde (7), Camavinga (8), Kroos (7); Hazard (7), Benzema (8), Junior (6).
Bench: Peter (6), Mariano (6), Jovic (6).
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