The winner of Federico Valverde kept Real Madrid's Laliga Title Dream Alive while they defeated Athletic Bilbao 1-0 on Sunday to close the gap for leaders Barcelona.
The side of Carlo Ancelotti is now four points behind their Clasico rivals in the rankings with six more games of their respective seasons.
Fresh from their Champions League exit to Arsenal in midweek, Madrid struggled to find their rhythm in the last third part, with Kylian Mbappe serving a suspension of one match.
Valverde registered the only shot of Los Blancos in the first half on the goal, but they were much improved after the break when they wanted to break down to Bilbao's strict defense.
Visiting goalkeeper Unai Simon produced a wonderful salvation to deny Jude Bellingham's header, to give the ball over the bar after good work by Vinicius Junior.
Vinicius thought he had handed Madrid the lead with a low shot, but the 79th -minute effort was not allowed by the VAR for an offside against Endrick in the structure.
Bellingham came in again, but was only able to prick the crossbar in the 90th minute, but there would be a final turn in the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
After Bilbao had not released their lines, Valverde sent a stunning volley in the top left corner in the third minute of the second half of the stop time, so that the victory for Madrid was sealed.
@Realmadriden 1-0 @Atletic_en90 ' + 3' @FedeEVALVERDE @EMIRates pic.twitter.com/f0ocksiltl
– Real Madrid CF (@realmadriden) April 20, 2025
Data Debrief: The Late Late Show
Madrid showed signs of a hangover of their disappointing Champions League exit in midweek, but she got a moment of magic from Valverde out of trouble.
Indeed, the sensational strike of the Uruguayan midfielder, Timed at 92:08, was the fourth of the fourth profitable goal of Madrid of the 21st century at home. Only Dani Carvajal (98:35 against Almeria in 2024), Bellingham (94:11 V Getafe in 2023) and Gonzalo Higuain (92:20) later scored for Madrid in Laliga at home.
And Madrid also proved that they can do the company without Mbappe. They had not won the two games without their star striker in their line-up (D2), but this time we crossed the line.