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Madrid, Spain | THE INDEPENDENT | Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in Valdebebas on Tuesday, but were made to dig deep by a rival that had to play for 77 minutes with just 10 men.
The visitors were down to 10 men after just 13 minutes after Raul Garcia was sent off for two yellow cards for fouls on Toni Kroos.
Athletic had a claim for a penalty turned down moments before Garcia’s second yellow after Inaki Williams was pushed in the Madrid area by Dani Carvajal, but the referee gave nothing and VAR didn’t intervene.
Athletic defended with order, with keeper Unai Simon saving everything that came his way, but Kroos broke the deadlock with an impressive strike in first-half injury time.
Despite the setback, Athletic showed personality, and despite having a man less Ander Capa drew them level early in the second half, firing home after Thibaut Courtois had saved his first shot after exchanging passes with Oscar de Marcos.
Karim Benzema put Madrid back in front in the 74th minute after a quickly-taken corner, but Athletic refused to lie down and it needed a magnificent save from Courtois to deny Mikel Vesga a 91st minute equalizer.
The ball fell kindly for Madrid after the keeper’s save and Benzema was able to add a third on the break to give the result some extra sheen.
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XINHUA
