Rodrygo reminds Real of his worth as Mbappe arrival looms

MADRID — Rodrygo thrived in the absence of Vinicius Junior as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Sunday to keep an eight-point lead over Barcelona in the Spanish league.

Rodrygo scored both goals and Madrid maintained its comfortable lead at the top after Barcelona had won 1-0 at Las Palmas on Saturday.

Vinicius didn't play because of a suspension over yellow cards, but Jude Bellingham was back in the squad after missing two straight league games because of a red-card suspension. The influential England international set up Rodrygo's second goal in Madrid's third straight league win.

Rodrygo's opener came with a beautiful shot into the top corner from just outside the area eight minutes into the match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

The Brazil forward had scored for Brazil in a friendly against Spain at the Bernabeu last week, but he hadn't found the net for Madrid in seven consecutive games.

"He played very well, made the difference with some high-quality plays," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said of Rodrygo.

The Brazilian said after the match he is not feeling threatened by the possible arrival of Kylian Mbappe.

"I think he is close (to being signed), from what everybody has been saying," Rodrygo said. "I'm just focused on finishing the season well. It would be a nice problem for the coach to have next season. I'm not worried."

Fourth-place Athletic arrived with its focus on next weekend's Copa del Rey final against Mallorca. The Basque Country club will try to win the cup for the first time in four decades. Defender Yeray Alvarez left Sunday's game with an apparent muscle injury in the 25th and could be doubtful for the final in Seville.

Athletic, which had won two in a row in the league, will drop to fifth place if Atletico Madrid wins at Villarreal on Monday.

Also back in Madrid's squad was central defender Eder Militao, who had been out for eight months because of a knee injury. He came off the bench in stoppage time to loud cheers from the Bernabeu crowd.

Brahim Diaz, who was in for Vinicius, nearly added to Madrid's lead in the 49th with a shot that hit the post.

Tuesday's "One Skin" friendly between Brazil and Spain at the Bernabeu, which ended 3-3, was set up after Vinicius was targeted by racial insults in a league match nearly a year ago.

Sunday's league games came a day after the match between Getafe and Sevilla was marred by more racist insults against Sevilla player Marcos Acuna and Sevilla coach Quique Sanchez Flores.

Madrid wore its purple fourth uniform instead of its traditional white jersey.

Stuani stirs Girona

Cristhian Stuani scored in stoppage time as Girona beat Real Betis 3-2 to move closer to securing a top-four finish.

The home win strengthened Girona's hold on third place. It is nine points ahead of fourth-place Athletic and 10 points in front of fifth-place Atletico, the first team outside the Champions League qualification places.

Girona visits Atletico next weekend in a key matchup with eight rounds remaining.

The Catalan club, which is part of the Abu Dhabi-backed City Football Group, is trying to make it to the Champions League for the first time.

Girona twice relinquished leads against seventh-place Betis, but earned the victory thanks to 37-year-old Stuani's goal from inside the area two minutes into second-half stoppage time in pouring rain at Montilivi Stadium.

Artem Dovbyk scored the other two goals for the host, while Willian Jose got on the board twice for Betis, which saw its losing streak reach four straight league matches.

Manuel Pellegrini's team has one win in its last eight games in all competitions.

Relegation fight

Celta Vigo and Rayo Vallecano drew 0-0 in Vigo in a match between relegation-threatened clubs.

The result left Celta in 17th place, immediately behind Rayo.

Celta sits three points clear of the relegation zone, while Rayo is five points from danger. Rayo has one win in 12 matches.

Celta complained about two calls that went against the team — the first on a goal that was ruled out because of a foul, and then for a possible penalty late in the game.

Sociedad on a roll

Sixth-place Real Sociedad picked up its third straight victory by winning 1-0 at 13th-place Alaves.

Jon Pacheco scored the winner with a diving header in the 59th.

Agencies via Xinhua