MADRID: Rodrygo netted a goal in each half as Real Madrid secured a 2-0 home win against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, cementing their position at the top of the La Liga table.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Real have 75 points, eight ahead of Barcelona in second and 10 clear of third-placed Girona with eight matches left. The result hit fourth-placed Bilbao’s hopes of securing a place in next season’s Champions League as they are only one point ahead of Atletico Madrid.

Without suspended Brazil forward Vinicius Junior, his compatriot Rodrygo made the difference with two superb strikes at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Rodrygo broke the deadlock after eight minutes, calmly curling the ball into the far corner after a composed run to the edge of the box, as the Bilbao defence failed to close down the Brazilian winger.

Aurelien Tchouameni almost found the net with a powerful header from a corner just before halftime, but the ball narrowly missed the target, denying Real another goal.

In the 73rd minute, Rodrygo was played free on the wing by Jude Bellingham, returning after a two-match suspension for dissent, on a counter-attack, giving him time and space to run into the box and guide the ball into the bottom corner.

“He played very well, he made the difference, he was able to score early, he has a lot of quality in his moves, it’s what he has to do,” Ancelotti told reporters.

Ancelotti said he was not concerned that Rodrygo, who had only netted once in his last 13 matches across all competitions, was inconsistent in front of goal.

“There are very isolated cases of forwards who score all the time, like [Karim] Benzema or Cristiano [Ronaldo],” continued the Italian. “With experience Rodrygo will improve in that aspect, he’s still young and plays with a lot of intensity, and sometimes because of that youth I ask him to do a lot of work, so that’s why sometimes he’s not as fresh in front of goal.”

In stoppage time, the Santiago Bernabeu crowd warmly applauded Eder Militao, who returned to the field for Real after being sidelined since August due to an ACL injury.

Ancelotti was happy to see his Brazilian defender back in action.

“We are talking about one of the best defenders in the world and he is important for us,” he said. “He needs time to adapt and get back to playing. We’ll need him in this final stretch of the season.”

Real will next host Manchester City in a highly anticipated first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on April 9.

“We know them very well, but we’re going to focus on our game. We need to bring more intensity than we did today, but we still have time,” Ancelotti added.

Earlier Cristhian Stuani’s last-gasp strike earned Girona an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Betis, keeping the minnows on track for Champions League qualification.

Michel Sanchez’s Girona had fallen badly out of form after running Real close in the title race for most of the season, but Stuani’s late goal earned them an important win that moved them nine points ahead of Bilbao.

Two David Lopez errors gifted Betis forward Willian Jose two goals to twice equalise goals from Girona forward Artem Dovbyk but veteran Uruguayan forward Stuani had the final say.

“Until [qualification] is mathematically sealed, we’ll keep working and preparing for matches as if they were the last,” Stuani told DAZN. “We’re on a good path, living through a historic year and let’s finish it in the best way we can.”

The hosts went ahead when Chadi Riad handled Dovbyk’s header and the Ukrainian netted the resulting penalty, before Jose lobbed home the equaliser.

Girona edged back in front with a good move finished by Dovbyk for his 16th goal, putting him level with Bellingham and Mallorca’s Ante Budimir as La Liga’s top scorer.

Betis were soon level after Lopez’s poor attempt at a clearance allowed Jose to strike, but Stuani pounced acrobatically in stoppage time to help Girona take their European dream one step closer to reality.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2024