How hard it was! Real Madrid hardly defeated Cadiz 2-0 on Saturday for the 29th day of La Liga, but still remains ten points behind FC Barcelona, who travel to Getafe on Sunday (4:15 p.m.), and five points ahead of Atlético Madrid , which receives Almeria (6:30 p.m.).
It was an unexpected hero who showed the way for the people of Madrid: after 26 attempted shots, the versatile defender Nacho Fernandez, from twenty meters, fired a cross shot from the outside of the right foot that lodged in the small net (72nd ).
And four minutes later, it was Marco Asensio, already a scorer against Chelsea on Wednesday in the Champions League quarter-final first leg (2-0), who doubled the lead from the left (75th).
Nacho, excellent since the start of the season in the role of luxury substitute for all defensive line positions and at the end of the contract on June 30, showed the way to his team just minutes after his brother Alex Fernandez, entered in place of Ruben Sobrino (70th) side Cadiz.
A victory that is good for the morale of Carlo Ancelotti’s men, three days before their Champions League quarter-final return against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday (9:00 p.m.).
The technician had also made six changes compared to the eleven who had beaten the Londoners on Wednesday: the championship being almost promised to Barça, the people of Madrid will now preserve their forces for the decisive matches on the continental scene.
However, the Merengues could have taken cover earlier: Asensio almost opened the scoring in the 16th minute, Karim Benzema hit the crossbar (35th) and the left post (64th), and Rodrygo caused panic to reign in the Andalusian defense, with in particular a clear missed opportunity in the 57th, on a discount from Fede Valverde.
Cadiz, for their part, had a few chances to express themselves, with the strike signed Alfonso Espino which crashed into the post in the 12th minute. But the Caditans bow logically, and remain four points from the red zone (15th, 31 points).
Earlier in the day, Athletic Bilbao won 2-0 in the Basque derby against Real Sociedad thanks to a magnificent brace from Ghanaian international Inaki Williams.
The Basque striker opened the scoring after a scramble in the box in the 33rd minute, then doubled the lead in the 70th minute on the counter, on a firecracker fired from the right.
In the other matches of the day, Villarreal was surprised 2-1 at home by Valladolid, who nevertheless finished the match at ten after the expulsion of Paulo Pezzolano on a direct red card (74th).
After Selim Amallah’s first quick goal in the 2nd minute, the referee disallowed Samu Chukwueze’s goal in the 15th minute on offside, and it was Jawad El Yamik who doubled the lead for the “Pucelanos” at the 34th, before the Frenchman Etienne Capoue reduced the gap at the end of the game (74th).
And at the start of the evening, Betis Sevilla easily defeated Espanyol Barcelona 3-1 to move ahead of Villarreal in the standings (5th, 48 points).