Madrid skipper scores again to keep Real ahead of Barca in race for La Liga

Sergio Ramos's second-half penalty saw Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 at San Mames as Zinedine Zidane's side remained in charge of the La Liga title race.

The Real captain stepped up to convert from the spot with just seventeen minutes to go after the referee, who had initially not pointed for a penalty, went to the TV monitor on the touchline to judge that Marcelo had been fouled.

Remarkably, that is Ramos's 10th goal of the season and his fifth in just seven games since La Liga returned to action in June. It gives Real a sizeable seven-point lead over Barcelona at the top of the table ahead of their rivals' tough-looking trip to Villarreal on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, this narrow defeat sees Bilbao stay eighth in the table, two points behind city rivals Real Sociedad in the race for the final Europa League spot with now just four games left to play for Gaizka Garitano's team.