Winner of its last three La Liga matches (4-0 against Osasuna, 3-0 against Leganés and 2-0 against Getafe), Real Madrid returned on the heels of FC Barcelona slowed down by two defeats and a draw during of their last three league matches. Since then, the Blaugranas have recovered last night against Mallorca (1-5). The Merengues therefore had to win in Bilbao in this advanced match of the 19th day (due to the Spanish Super Cup played in January in Saudi Arabia) to stay a small point behind the Catalans in the standings. For their part, the Basques, 4th in the ranking, had the opportunity to come back to three lengths behind Atlético de Madrid. For this match, Carlo Ancelotti fielded an almost typical team, except for the injured. Aurélien Tchouaméni made his comeback, while Kylian Mbappé shared the attack with Rodrygo.
This evening, Madrid did not face the 17th in Liga (Getafe), but the 4th and it was felt. Right away. From the start of the match, Carlo Ancelotti’s men were taken by the throat by the Basque pressing. From the first waves of attack by Athletic, we only had to wait four minutes to see the young Raul Asencio make a big mistake on the restart, forcing Thibaut Courtois to make his first save of the match on a strike from Nico Williams (4th). Real were under pressure and unable to come out on top. Result: Mbappé and Rodrygo were deprived of balls, while Jude Bellingham suffered XXL pressure from Jauregizar and the will-o’-the-wisp Sancet. Consumed by the physical impact, the players from the capital still offered two highlights: a goal from Mbappé refused for offside (13th) and a free kick on the edge of the area obtained by Bellingham sent to the stars by Valverde (21st). And then that’s it for these first 45 minutes. Cut in two, Madrid had no chance of being dangerous. The Valverde-Tchouaméni duo was not made to bring play, Ceballos was too timid and poor Bellingham spent most of his time plugging the gaps in his team without being able to contribute offensively. Unsurprisingly, the Mbappé-Rodrygo duo did not have many balls to get their teeth into.
Mbappé’s missed penalty, Valverde’s fatal ball
For its part, Bilbao could have regrets. Ultra-dominant despite a slight drop in speed at the end of the first period, the Basques could have logically led the score if Berenguer had not harvested a huge scoring opportunity after a high-class delivery from Iñaki Williams in the open area (31st ). Upon returning from the locker room, no changes to report on both sides. Athletic continued its devastating pressing, while the Madrilenians had all the difficulty in the world to carry the danger into the Agirrezabala area. And what was supposed to happen happened. After missing a huge scoring opportunity in the 31st minute, Berenguer made up for it by victoriously taking back a cross from Iñaki Williams that was pushed back by Courtois (53rd). San Mamés could explode with joy. Logically trailing, Madrid confirmed that the improvement observed in recent days did not last long against a competitive team. And as is often the case, problems never come alone. In addition to seeing his team appear helpless, Ancelotti witnessed an end to the match that will get people talking. And with Kylian Mbappé as the main actor.
At the hour mark, the Bondynois missed a great opportunity to equalize with a safe strike for Agirrezabala (59th). Less than ten minutes later, the captain of the Blues took advantage of a foul by the opposing goalkeeper on Rüdiger to have the opportunity to recover from the penalty spot. In vain. After his failure at Anfield, Mbappé failed once again (67th). Immediately comforted by Bellingham, the Frenchman finally managed to score the equalizing goal thanks to a long shot pushed back by Agirrezabala at the feet of Bellingham (1-1, 78th). Real Madrid thought they had done the hardest part. Rodrygo’s shot stopped by Agirrezabala (80th) even suggested a thunderous awakening for the Merengues. This was without counting on Valverde’s incredible defensive performance in the process. A big mistake which allowed Guruzeta to score the fatal goal of 2-1 (80th). Beaten, Real Madrid remains second in the standings, but four points behind Barça (and a game in hand). For its part, Athletic took fourth place alone and came back three lengths behind Atlético.
Relive the match film
