Rodrygo double against Athletic fires Real Madrid closer to La Liga crown

Real Madrid took a giant stride towards another league title by beating top-four challengers Athletic Club 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu. Brazilian star Rodrygo was the hero, netting a first-half thunderbolt before sealing the points late on.

The home side, donning their purple away strip, drew first blood after just eight minutes. Rodrygo received the ball 25 yards out and pushed forward before unleashing an unstoppable strike into the top corner, leaving Athletic stunned. Despite their early setback, the visitors rallied and Iñaki Williams forced a fine save from Andriy Lunin with a sweetly-struck volley.

As the second period wore on, Real began to dictate proceedings with Toni Kroos pulling the strings in midfield as usual. The Germans’ influence was key in creating the second goal, as his incisive pass towards Jude Bellingham allowed the Englishman to release Rodrygo who dinked past the onrushing goalkeeper.

That 74th-minute strike effectively ended Athletic’s resistance, with Real comfortably seeing out the remainder of the contest. There was still time for defender Éder Militão to make his long-awaited return from injury as a late substitute.

With this victory, Carlo Ancelotti’s men extended their unbeaten home league run to open up a potentially decisive gap at the La Liga summit ahead of their Champions League quarter-final clash with Manchester City.