Real Madrid: 5 key players to watch against Athletic Bilbao

After defeating Getafe 1-0, Real Madrid have another tough game on the schedule.

Real Madrid have been perfect in their six games since La Liga’s return, but they have found it difficult to break through defenses in their last two games. Even so, they found the breakthrough in a 1-0 win at the RCDE Stadium via a moment of magic from Karim Benzema, and then they converted a late penalty to push past an excellent Getafe side.

On Sunday, Real must face Athletic Club at San Mames in an early kickoff. Bilbao have their own designs on European football, as they are in eight place and three points behind Martin Odegaard’s Real Sociedad. This match means a lot to them, too.

Here are five Real Madrid players to watch especially closely this weekend.

CF Karim Benzema

Goals will be at a premium against Athletic Bilbao, as they boast another one of the best defenses in La Liga. Espanyol and Getafe played Real tough, but Madrid had past experience scoring on them in 2019-2020. Bilbao, meanwhile, held them out of the goal in a 0-0 draw in December.

Karim Benzema will once again be tasked with finding the decisive goal. He’ll have to beat Unai Simon and one of Europe’s most underrated back fours, but, as we saw at Espanyol, he has more than enough talent to find the moment of magic to break the game open – even if he’s not the one who scores the goal himself.