Valverde's late strike earns Real win over Athletic Bilbao to keep title hopes alive

Real Madrid's Federico Valverde netted a superb late volley to secure a 1-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday that keeps them within four points of La Liga leaders Barcelona.

Real bounced back after their midweek UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Arsenal to move up to 69 points, six clear of third-placed Atletico Madrid, who suffered a shock 1-0 loss at Las Palmas on Saturday.

A heavily rotated Athletic side had kept the hosts at bay until Valverde scored the winner three minutes into stoppage time, pouncing on a poor clearance to fire a volley into the far top corner.

"Fede has a very unusual shot, a very good one," Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. "Yesterday in training he kicked a ball that looked like it was going wide and suddenly it took a spin and you think... How did you kick that? It's very sharp, fast and powerful. In training he easily does one or two like that a week. We've been telling him for years: 'shoot, shoot'."

Vinicius Jr. thought he had handed Real the lead with a low shot, but the 79th-minute effort was disallowed by the video assistant referee (VAR) for an Endrick offside in the buildup.

After an uneventful first half, Jude Bellingham had Real's first clear scoring chance with a close-range header, but goalkeeper Unai Simon made a brilliant save on the hour mark to keep the scores level.

Fresh off reaching the Europa League semifinals, Athletic stayed disciplined in defense, frustrating Real for much of the match, but failing to create scoring chances of their own.

Athletic's resistance finally broke and the late defeat leaves them fourth in the standings with 57 points.

"We played well, we defended until the end, but we know what Real Madrid are like at the Bernabeu," Athletic's Alex Berenguer told reporters. "I think the team responded well. Whoever plays, we do well, but they are a great team and they get you into the box and it's difficult."

Other games on the day:

Osasuna 3-2 Real Valladolid

Villarreal 2-2 Real Sociedad

Sevilla 1-1 Alaves