Not having Vinicius on the field for the last game before they play Manchester City helped Real Madrid win easily.
Next weekend there are no league games because of the Spanish Cup final. After this 2-0 win, Madrid can relax and enjoy the view from the top of the table, eight points ahead of Barcelona in second place with eight games still to play.
It was Athletic Bilbao against them, and in six days, they’ll be busy with that final against Mallorca. Rodrygo, the “other” Brazilian who’s always been overshadowed by Vinicius, scored twice to win the game for Madrid, and Athletic had no answer.
Jude Bellingham also came back after being suspended for two games. From the middle of the field, he led the team forward and set up the second goal. There was a third main character as well. Seven months ago, Eder Militao had surgery to repair a torn cruciate ligament. He came back as a replacement in the second half and looked ready to play against City.
When the second goal was scored. A group of Real Madrid fans watched the game and put up a sign behind the South Goal telling everyone in the stadium to wear the famous white shirt for the first leg of the quarterfinals on April 9.
Madrid did not wear white for this win. When they played Athletic in their new fourth kit, which was purple, it was hard to tell who they were because Athletic was all white.
The first goal wasn’t hard to understand, though. In the eighth minute, Rodrygo scored a brilliant goal.
He was able to play on the left side of Real Madrid’s attack, where he is most comfortable since Vinicius was out because of a suspension.
Rodrygo cut in from the left side after Brahim Diaz sent a long diagonal pass. He beat Julen Agirrezabala with a well-hit shot. It made him remember how good he could be in his favorite position. It’s too bad for him that Vinicius and the new player Kylian Mbappe both want to play in the same spot.
As the half ended, Madrid still had the lead, and they might have made it two goals to one right after the restart when Brahim hit the post.
Inaki Williams stopped a volley that Athletic almost scored, but Andriy Lunin made a great save.
And because Ernesto Valverde’s team left gaps at the back and Bellingham was running all over the place, it always looked like Madrid would score a second goal than Athletic would score an equalizer.
Bellingham was taken down by Dani Vivian in the area, but he didn’t get a red card because of what referee Javier Alberola Rojas saw.
Even so, the second goal came in the 73rd minute, when Bellingham started a counterattack and sent Rodrygo off down the left again. He moved out of the way of Vivian and shot past Agirrezabala.
Militao had only to trot back onto the field. It looked like he might not make it because the ball had been in play for so long. Finally, Lunin kicked it out of play on purpose so Militao could come in for Dani Carvajal, who had been hurt seven months and 19 days before. It was the best way for Madrid to end a great night.