Match Analysis: Athletic Bilbao 0-3 Real Madrid

Real Madrid claimed a 3-0 victory from their trip to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga this evening.

Two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo took him to 50 for the campaign, while Gonzalo Higuain made sure of the win in the closing stages.

Sports Mole has looked backed over the clash to determine if Madrid were worthy winners.

Match statistics:

Bilbao: Shots 11 On target 2 Possession 54% Corners 7 Fouls 16

Real Madrid: Shots 14 On target 6 Possession 46% Corners 5 Fouls 11

Was the result fair?

Like Barcelona before them, Madrid made light work of a potentially tricky trip. They were the more dominant force from the first whistle and it would have been extremely unjust had Bilbao claimed anything from the contest.

Bilbao's performance

They never really got started tonight. Everything was set up for Bilbao to produce a positive performance, what with it being their last match against Madrid at San Mames. However, it just didn't happen. They got themselves into numerous good positions, but the final pass or shot was not up to the standard required to beat a team like Madrid.

Real Madrid's performance

Los Blancos's display was reminiscent of the good West German international team back in the 1970s - very efficient. It wasn't always pretty, but they scored at important times which really knocked the stuffing out of their opponents. Coach Jose Mourinho will also be pleased with the way that his side dealt with the pressure that was put on them during the early parts of the second half.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Cristiano Ronaldo: It may seem quite boring to continually hand this award to Ronaldo, but you cannot ignore someone who scores twice and claims an assist. He seemed to annoy the home faithful with some theatrics, which resulted in them jeering him. That only inspired the Portuguese attacker, though, who appeared to enjoy himself as the match went on.

Biggest gaffe

In a match of few errors, this award will have to go to Madrid substitute Jose Callejon. He carved out a shooting opportunity with some neat footwork, but when the time came to finish off his hard work, he fired horribly wide. Thankfully his side were leading 3-0 at the time.

Referee performance

Like a lot of La Liga officials, Fernando Teixeira was rather card-happy at times. He also missed a lot of clashes off the ball, particularly involving Ronaldo. All in all, Teixeira has probably had better evenings at work.

What next?

Bilbao: Next up for Bilbao is a trip to struggling Deportivo La Courna.

Real Madrid: Real return to the capital next weekend when Real Betis make the trip to the Bernabeu on Saturday evening.