Real Madrid took a huge step towards the title after moving provisionally seven points clear of Barcelona at the top of LaLiga thanks to a late Sergio Ramos penalty at San Mames on Sunday.
Zinedine Zidane’s side went four ahead of Barca on Thursday after a Ramos spot-kick secured a 1-0 win at home to Getafe and the captain repeated the trick in this match after Marcelo was fouled by Dani Garcia.
The Brazilian went flying in the area with 68 minutes gone and play initially went on, but the referee decided to consult the screen at the side of the pitch after a VAR check as the left-back stayed down and he pointed to the spot.
Following a little pause in his run-up, Ramos beat Unai Simon with a low shot into the goalkeeper’s right-hand corner to convert his 20th penalty in a row, which is 22 including shootouts.
It was also his fifth goal in seven games since LaLiga returned last month and proved the difference after an intense encounter in which Karim Benzema and Inaki Williams had earlier missed good chances.
Madrid held out through a frenetic finale in which Ramos also made a vital clearance and there was a bad-tempered ending as Iker Muniain was angered by a Luka Modric nutmeg deep in added time and was booked along with the Real captain and Casemiro.
Zidane’s side are now seven clear at the top with four matches left, although Barca can cut the gap back to four later with a win at Villarreal.
Athletic are eighth, four points off sixth-placed Getafe, who have a game in hand.
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