Soccer-Rodrygo brace leads Real to 2-0 win over Bilbao

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - March 31, 2024 Real Madrid's Rodrygo scores their first goal /Violeta Santos Moura

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 LaLiga table.

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, who play at Villarreal on Monday.

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 on a counter-attack, giving him time and space to run into the box and guide the ball into the bottom corner.

Bellingham returned from a two-match suspension to replace Vinicius Jr, who was suspended for this match after picking up five yellow cards.

MILITAO RETURNS

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.

Real manager Carlo 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.

Bilbao will face Mallorca in the Copa Del Rey final on Saturday, with manager Ernesto Valverde quick to play down the loss against Real.

"Now we focus on what is coming this week and fighting for the final. We have to face it with enthusiasm and motivation," he said.

(Reporting by Tommy Lund in GdanskEditing by Toby Davis and Pritha Sarkar)