Real Madrid went five points clear a the top of La Liga after coming through a testing game at Athletic Bilbao to win 2-1 thanks to Brazilian midfield lynchpin Casemiro's strike on Saturday.
Karim Benzema fired Real ahead in the 25th minute with an exquisite first-time finish from a Cristiano Ronaldo cross after Casemiro had begun the move with a clever long ball from the halfway line.
Athletic worked hard to get back into the game and, after Real keeper Keylor Navas produced a brilliant save to deny Inaki Williams, veteran striker Aritz Aduriz headed the home side level from close range in the 65th minute.
- Holders Real Madrid draw Bayern; Juve v Barca in CL quartersHolders Real Madrid were drawn to face their former coach Carlo Ancelotti's Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday.
- Ramos gets Real out of jail after early battering as Los Blancos romp into quartersSergio Ramos headed an equaliser and created an own goal to set Real Madrid on the way to a 3-1 win at Napoli on Tuesday which took the title-holders into the Champions League quarter-finals after they had taken a first-half battering.
Casemiro restored Real's lead in the 68th, however, by controlling a Ronaldo's flicked header from a corner and calmly taking his time to tuck the ball into the net from close range thanks to some careless defending.
Real lead on 65 points from second-placed Barcelona, who have also played 27 games and host Valencia on Sunday.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 