No Vini, no problem; Rodrygo guides Real Madrid to another win with his brace

Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga. Los Blancos are still at the top of La Liga and are now at 75 points after 30 games have been played. They are eight points ahead of FC Barcelona, who are second with 67 points. Real Madrid will take a week off as their next game will be the Champions League quarterfinal match against Manchester City on April 9th at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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Real Madrid started off brilliantly at home, even with Vinicius Jr., who was suspended for the accumulation of yellow cards. After Athletic Bilbao tried to cause a few problems against Real Madrid, the home side punished them. In the 8th minute, Brahim Diaz played a pass to Rodrygo between the lines, and the Brazilian did the rest. Rodrygo cuts inside on his right foot and starts dribbling past a few Athletic Bilbao players. Rodrygo curls a shot on the edge of the box and scores past the Athletic Bilbao keeper to open the score for Real Madrid. The strike was impressive as he managed to find the right amount of space to realize the curling strike.

Real Madrid tried on a couple of occasions before halftime, but they couldn't convert. In the second half, Real Madrid almost scored early again. Rodrygo was a threat to the Athletic Bilbao team as he drifted inside and found a pass for Brahim Diaz. Diaz gets the ball in the box and takes a shot towards the goal, but the ball hits the right post to deny Real Madrid's second goal of the night. Real Madrid threatened on counterattacks, and one counter led to their second goal of the night.

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Rodrygo scored his second for Real Madrid in a lethal counterattack

In the 74th minute, Real Madrid countered Athletic Bilbao after they tried to find the equalizer. After a few sets of quick passes, Jude Bellingham finds himself in space and sends a through-ball to Rodrygo, who drifted to the left. Rodrygo controls the ball and starts dribbling rapidly into the box. Rodrygo cuts inside quickly away from Vivian, and the Brazilian shoots at the near post to score his brace. Rodrygo has scored his 15th goal of the season for Real Madrid.

Eder Militao returned for Real Madrid in the 92nd minute but only played a minute. Militao hasn't played for Real Madrid since last August. His last game was ironically against Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames stadium in August. Real Madrid sealed another crucial victory in La Liga at home.