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Real Madrid fall to Athletic Bilbao defeat

A first-half goal from Aritz Aduriz is enough to earn Athletic Bilbao a 1-0 victory against La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

Real Madrid have suffered a blow in their attempts to win the La Liga title after falling to a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao.

Aritz Aduriz's 16th goal of the season was enough to move his side up to eighth place, as well as leaving the door open for Barcelona to move to the top of the standings on Sunday.

From the first whistle, a crescendo of noise from the passionate San Mames support greeted Real, and they never quite settled during the opening stages as Bilbao looked to stamp their authority on the match.

As the first half reached the midway point, it was Bilbao who had the momentum, and they opened the scoring on 26 minutes when Aduriz powered a header past Iker Casillas after meeting a Mikel Rico delivery.

The remainder of the opening period saw Real struggle to create any clear-cut opportunities, but they were reinvigorated after the break and only some last-ditch defending from Bilbao kept them ahead.

Bilbao hit back through Aduriz, who forced a stop out of Casillas, but it was Real who were in the ascendancy and goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz ensured that the score remained the same with saves from Isco and Karim Benzema.

The tempo intensified as the match moved towards the final quarter, but, after Iraizoz came out well to save from Cristiano Ronaldo, Bilbao almost doubled their lead when Aduriz's header struck the post.

Time was running out for Real, but, with six minutes remaining, Gareth Bale almost scored a remarkable effort from all of 50 yards, but his shot struck the post before the rebound was wasted by Javier Hernandez.

That was as good as it got for Real, who fell to their fourth away defeat of the campaign.

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Athletic Bilbao's forward Aritz Aduriz celebrates a goal during the Spanish league football match Athletic Club Bilbao vs Sevilla FC at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao on November 2, 2014
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona17122350193138
2Real Madrid16113234132136
3Atletico MadridAtletico16105130111935
4Athletic Bilbao1795326151132
5Villarreal157532725226
6Real Sociedad167361611524
7Osasuna166642225-324
8Mallorca177371620-424
9GironaGirona166462223-122
10Celta Vigo166372527-221
11Real BetisBetis165651820-221
12Rayo Vallecano155461516-119
13Sevilla165471723-619
14Las PalmasLas Palmas165382227-518
15Getafe163761113-216
16AlavesAlaves164391827-915
17Leganes163671423-915
18Espanyol1541101528-1313
19Valencia142481322-910
20Real ValladolidValladolid1623111134-239


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