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The current La Liga season will go down as one of the most competitive in recent years. Pay no attention to the naysayers who think all the title contenders are inconsistent. There are no easy matches in the Spanish topflight.
For much of the season, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have been battling it out in a three-horse race. However, with just one game remaining in the La Liga, only two teams are left standing.
Atletico are the odds-on favourites to emerge champions but Real Madrid gave themselves a fighting chance when they defeated Athletico Bilbao over the weekend.
Real Madrid record narrow win over Bilbao
The title race has become so tight that any side that drops points immediately falls behind. Barcelona found this out the hard way when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Celta Vigo.
However, Real Madrid kept pace with league leaders Atletico by recording a narrow 1-0 win over Bilbao. On a day when Diego Simeone’s side came from behind to beat Osasuna, the Blancos responded by grabbing all three points.
Real Madrid may not have been at their best but they managed to get the job done. At this stage of the season, results are all that matter.
Once Nacho Fernandes put the Blancos ahead in the second half, the game was all but over. Zinedine Zidane’s side recorded just two shots on target throughout the 90 minutes but were compact and defended well to hold on to their lead.
La Liga title race heading to final day
Barcelona are officially out of the title race but the fact that Real Madrid and Atletico both won on Sunday means the league will be decided on the final day of the season.
While Simeone’s side will lock horns with Real Valladolid, the Blancos face Villarreal. Real Madrid, though, can only be crowned champions if they win their game and Atletico drops points.
"We are going to play our match and we are going to have a difficult match against Villarreal, so we have to concentrate on ourselves," Zidane said after Sunday’s victory over Bilbao, as quoted by Marca.
As it stands, Real Madrid’s chances of retaining the La Liga title are very slim. However, the competitiveness of this year's title race will make for an interesting final day of the season.
