Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of the La Liga table to five points after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Real Madrid came out of the tricky trip to San Mames with all three points, but had to work hard for the result to come out 2-1 winners over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Karim Benzema gave the visitors the lead midway through the first half with his 16th goal of the season before Aritz Aduriz levelled things up in the 65th minute to set up an enticing finale.
But, Casemiro stepped up to the plate to grab the winner for Zinedine Zidane’s side as he was left unmarked to slot in an easy tap-in from close range in the 68th minute, and create a five-point lead over Barcelona.
Here are the best tweets after a closely contested affair at San Mames on Saturday
➕3️⃣ points! ?#HALAMADRID!#RMLiga pic.twitter.com/rAFG8w2IZn
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) March 18, 2017
Athletic Club 1-2 Real Madrid FT:
Shots: 12-9
Pass accuracy: 81%-79%
Chances created: 11-7
Possession: 50%-50%Casemiro with the winner. pic.twitter.com/kWYvRPP7wU
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) March 18, 2017
FT: Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Real Madrid
Karim Benzema and Casemiro help Real open up a five-point gap atop #LaLiga. pic.twitter.com/dSoMviWJZu
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 18, 2017
? Real Madrid move 5 points clear
? Betis return to winning ways
? Alaves edge the Basque derby#LaLiga roundup ? https://t.co/4NQr4Pwsnc pic.twitter.com/mMaiWGSVEl— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) March 18, 2017
Casemiro scored the winner for Real Madrid, and he was the toast of Los Blancos supporters after the match:
Casemiro against Athletic Bilbao
Goal: 1
Duels (won): 26 (15)
Clearances: 4
Interceptions: 4
Tackles: 8 pic.twitter.com/hlsfK488w6
— RMadrid Edition (@RMadridEdition) March 18, 2017
Casemiro Wins you most important matches! Always!
— Mano (@Officialhbkmano) March 18, 2017
Casemiro was immense in the 2nd half. Forget the goal, can’t count how many times he stopped Athletic attacks single-handedly.
— O.Dembélé fanboy (@OmVArvind) March 18, 2017
Casemiro won more points than Neymar this season?????
— (40-29) (@baIlersonly) March 18, 2017
CASEMIRO MAN OF THE MATCH AND MAN OF THE MIDFIELD!!!!
HE GAVE US THE 3 POINTS TODAY!
— Omar ? (@OMAR_CR7_) March 18, 2017
Both of our DM’s dropped 10/10 performance today.
Casemiro vs Bilbao.
Llorente vs Sociedad.— Ayub⁸ (@KaiserT8_) March 18, 2017
Casemiro is a big game player tbh
— Madridista Haven (@MadridistaHaven) March 18, 2017
Casemiro pass before the goal. pic.twitter.com/mQt8D5GzCx
— Dezil Dez (@DezilDezz) March 18, 2017
That ball from Casemiro! ?
— RMadrid Edition (@RMadridEdition) March 18, 2017
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ASSIST CRISTIANOOOOOOOO RONALDOOOOO ?????????
AND THAT PASS FROM CASEMIRO TOO ??— Omar ? (@OMAR_CR7_) March 18, 2017
Madrid will need to convert their chances but I can’t find a more important player than Casemiro for this tie.
— Lucas Navarrete (@LucasNavarreteM) March 17, 2017
Karim Benzema scored his 16th goal of the season to enter the Top 10 of all-time Real Madrid top scorers list and fans congratulated the Frenchman on a superb performance:
??⚽️
Congratulations to @Benzema! ?#RMLiga #HalaMadrid https://t.co/NEh10sAvRd— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) March 18, 2017
Ramos being shit at defending and Benzema being a shit striker are just myths made up by anti-Madridistas on Twitter.
— kuba (@PolishBlanco) March 18, 2017
Karim Benzema has now scored 6 goals in his last 6 games against Athletic Bilbao! pic.twitter.com/7ckXwQ6kOC
— RMadrid Edition (@RMadridEdition) March 18, 2017
Benzema is the most technical 9 of this generation. Shame he’s let down by his teammates.
— JP (@LeFootSansFekir) March 18, 2017
The work benzema does for madrid’s attack is impeccable. It’s the main reason morata won’t start for Madrid
— Gbenga Adejare (@Adegbengs) March 18, 2017
@Benzema Always proud of you ?✊? #Warrior pic.twitter.com/ZchADMkxtn
— Celine (@celine_988) March 19, 2017
Damn Benzema’s goal was cleeeean, those bouncing first touch shots are one of the most difficult to score.
— Ødegaard (@SamKhedira) March 19, 2017