Fede Valverde Stunner Saves Real Madrid Title Hopes Against Athletic Bilbao

Fede Valverde's superb 93rd minute strike kept Real Madrid on Barcelona's tail in the Spanish title race, earning the champions a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Fede Valverde's superb 93rd minute strike kept Real Madrid on Barcelona's tail in the Spanish title race, earning the champions a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Madrid stayed four points behind Barca after Valverde smashed into the top corner with a sliced, swerving effort. After Champions League elimination by Arsenal it looked like Madrid were set for another devastating result until the Uruguay international's stoppage-time intervention. "Fede has such a good shot... in training yesterday he shot a ball that looked like it was going out and then it picked up a curl like that and you go 'how do you shoot like that?'" said Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

"In training he does that once or twice a week."

Athletic Bilbao, who reached the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday by beating Rangers, rotated heavily.

Despite that, the Basque side proved a hard nut for Madrid to crack, especially with their top goalscorer Kylian Mbappe both suspended and recovering from an ankle problem.

The forward was whistled by some fans for his failure to help the team overcome Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals in midweek when he was shown watching the game on the stadium screens.

"Valverde was key in this game because he scored the goal," said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.