Federico Valverde celebrates with team-mate Vinicius Jr after scoring Real Madrid's late winner against Athletic BilbaoGetty Images

Federico Valverde's winner was his sixth La Liga goal of the season for Real Madrid

Federico Valverde's stunning stoppage-time strike kept Real Madrid in the La Liga title hunt as Carlo Ancelotti's side eventually overcame stubborn Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu.

Valverde crashed an emphatic half-volley into the top corner with the outside of his left foot three minutes into time added on to finally reward incessant second-half pressure from the hosts.

It was his sixth league goal this season, but first since December against Sevilla.

Victory kept Real, who were without France striker Kylian Mbappe as he served a one-match ban following a red card in the 1-0 win at Alaves, four points behind leaders Barcelona with six games to go.

Barca had produced their own added-time drama on Saturday, coming from 3-1 down to beat Celta Vigo 4-3 thanks to Raphinha's 98th-minute penalty.

However, after a humbling week that saw the Champions League holders dumped out of this year's competition with a 5-1 aggregate defeat by Arsenal, Real kept alive their hopes of retaining their league title.

It appeared they would be frustrated by Bilbao and goalkeeper Unai Simon, who thwarted Eduardo Camavinga's rising drive and a Jude Bellingham header in a one-sided second half.

Real thought they had made the breakthrough with 11 minutes remaining but Vinicius Jr's classy curler was ruled out for a marginal offside against Endrick in the build-up.

It took a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) delay to disallow the strike and, when the officials later deemed a clip on Bellingham in the area was not worth a review, it seemed another frustrating night was on the cards for the defending champions.

But full-back Valverde, who had twice earlier gone within inches of breaking the deadlock, popped up late with his sublime strike to ease the pressure on Ancelotti, whose side next face Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.

With ex-Real midfielder Xabi Alonso increasingly linked with the manager's job, Ancelotti admitted this week he would discuss his future at the Bernabeu in the summer despite having a deal until 2026. He is though expected to leave the club.

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