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

Flavius Niculescu

MADRID :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 LaLiga leaders Barcelona. 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. Vinicius Junior thought he had handed Real the lead with a low shot, but the 79th-minute effort was disallowed by