BARCELONA: Real Madrid were made to wait, but eventually conjured a stylish 2-0 victory at Cadiz on Saturday in La Liga, ahead of their Champions League trip to face Chelsea.

Nacho Fernandez and Marco Asensio struck to help champions Real cut Barcelona’s lead at the top of the table to 10 points, before the Catalans visit Getafe the next day.

Both sides hit the woodwork in the first half but Real overran their opponents, with only Cadiz goalkeeper David Gil keeping them at bay.

Nacho broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute with a drive from distance, with Asensio adding another four minutes later.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti rang the changes at the Nuevo Mirandilla to rest players for the visit to Stamford Bridge for the quarter-final second leg, including veteran midfielders Toni Kroos and Luka Modric and winger Vinicius Junior.

Real arrived with the right mindset and on another day would have ended the first half several goals in front.

Gil made stunning saves to deny Karim Benzema, Rodrygo and Asensio.

Real were racking up the shots and, finally, their 26th effort of the night went in.

It came from an unlikely source, in Nacho, who drove home from the edge of the box into the bottom corner. Real quickly added another. Fede Valverde carried the ball forward and fed Asensio, who finished clinically.

Despite his other rotations, Ancelotti left Benzema on the pitch for the full 90 minutes, a surprise given he has had fitness issues this season.

Defeat leaves Cadiz 15th, four points clear of the drop zone.

Elsewhere, Inaki Williams scored twice as Athletic Bilbao beat Real Sociedad 2-0 in the Basque derby.

La Real had the chance to tighten their grip on fourth place after Villarreal, sixth, stumbled to a 2-1 home defeat by relegation-battling Real Valladolid, but fell short in Bilbao.

Real Betis beat struggling Espanyol 3-1 to move fifth, three points behind Imanol Alguacil’s side.

Inaki Williams broke the deadlock when he stabbed home from a corner. Inaki smashed home his second goal after 70 minutes, driving into the box and rifling past Remiro from a tight angle.

Alexander Sorloth should have pulled one back for the visitors but inexplicably slammed over the bar from point-blank range.

Athletic stayed seventh but ensured the race for European football grew tighter.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2023