Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois speaks: “It’s a disappointing result, it was an intense game, and it was difficult for us to get into it. Athletic set out to frustrate us, we know how they play, and we feel it’s two points dropped.

“We had plenty of chances, their goalkeeper made some good saves ... we’re not lacking goal-scoring ability but the ball just doesn’t want to go in at the moment.”

Man of the match Simón says: “We worked on this performance all week, and I think we deserved the point.”

They most certainly did. That’s all from me tonight - thank you for reading - and sincere thanks to Håkan Burden for his evocative story about foil-wrapped sandwiches in Valencia. Bye for now. Oh, and Merry Christmas to one and all.

90 min + 6: Amazing save by Courtois! Villalibre’s close-range header is beaten out by the Frenchman - but he was offside anyway. What a finale that would have been.

90 min + 5: Lekue finds the energy to race down the right. He cuts inside and bends a shot goalwards, going for ultimate glory for the visitors. But it’s high and wide.

90 min + 4: Kroos lofts a hopeful pass towards Bale, this time from the left wing. Bale can’t reach it. Simón gathers, and then belts the ball as far down the pitch as he possibly can.

90 min + 2: Mendy charges on to a long pass. It’s a goal kick. The crowd jeer. At this stage they will be craving a nice big glass of red wine and some tapas. They won’t have been satisfied by the football on show tonight - not the Madrid fans, anyway. But a late home winner would change the mood ...

89 min: Sergio Ramos is now playing up front. Madrid have a corner. The ball is worked back to Kroos, who swings in a cross from the right - Benzema jumps for it and wants a corner, but the ref waves away his appeal. Zidane urges his players to produce one last big effort. We will have SIX additional minutes!

86 min: Jovic hits a post with a header! Brilliant effort by the substitute as he leaps superbly, and twists body to head goalwards. Goalkeeper Simón is for once utterly, hopelessly beaten - but the ball rebounds off the base of his right-hand post! On the follow-up, Simón snaffles the ball as Ramos dives in. Ramos is then booked. Amazing. Was that it? Was that the final chance?

85 min: Carvajal sends a low ball into the penalty area where Modric is lurking ... and Athletic intercept it. Inside the final five minutes now. Inaki Williams is taken off. Beñat comes on. Garitano has wasted a few more precious seconds.

83 min: Real Madrid spend another few fruitless phases of play in and around the visitors’ penalty area. Jovic sends a cross over. Núñez does well to clear. There is one set of fans singing very loudly, and I’m going to take a wild guess that it’s the Athletic Bilbao section ...

80 min: Into the final 10 minutes. Madrid have had 18 shots. Athletic Club have had five.

Modric has now been fouled near the visitors’ penalty area. Kroos floats a free-kick over to the far post. Sergio Ramos, that famous paragon of fair play, is penalised for a push in the back of defender Martínez. That rather sums up the frustration Madrid are feeling. Can they somehow find a way through?

77 min: Modric sends a pass into the left-hand corner and Bale tries - and fails - to get on the end of it. Over on the touchline, Zidane is prowling around and looking distinctly disgruntled. You could say he looks far from gruntled. His team have really laboured in this second half. They had more cutting edge and energy before half-time.

75 min: Bale shoots from the edge of the box. There is a Bilbao body in the way. IT’S ANOTHER BLOCKED SHOT. This has been far from a Christmas Cracker, as a spectacle, but you have to admire the way Gaizka Garitano’s men have defended. Can they hold out for 15 minutes? Can they even score and stage one of the great smash-and-grab raids?

71 min: Modric has a shot blocked. No, really! A blocked shot. Who would have thunk it? Then Bale curls a powerful, ambitious shot towards goal from distance but it’s just too high. Luka Jovic now comes on - Zidane’s last throw of the dice.

Striker Villalibre on for Athletic Club, Kodro off. Kodro trudges very slooooowly as he seeks to waste a few seconds, and the Madrid fans whistle their disapproval.

Push a bit harder ...

68 min: According to the stats on the official La Liga site, Real Madrid have had 69% possession.

Athletic Club now attack, on their right, and Lekue sends a good low cross towards Williams into lots of space behind the home defence. But Carvajal does brilliantly to stretch and stop the ball reaching Williams.

66 min: Mendy sprints into the Athletic Club penalty area with the ball at his feet. Lekue brings him down with a slightly clumsy challenge from the side - in fact almost from behind. The crowd roar for a penalty but the referee is having none of it. Mendy went down rather easily, in truth.

65 min: You’re not going to believe this - but Benzema’s just had a shot from a tight angle and Simón makes another good save. It was a powerful effort and would have flown into the corner. Bilbao breath again...

63 min: Bales gets into the action straight away. He links with Modric and Benzema. Benzema has another half-chance blocked from the edge of the penalty area. Then Bale hits a poor cross from the right and it’s a goal kick for the visitors.

61 min: Bale is about to come on. Before he is introduced, Zidane shields his mouth as he gives instructions to the Welshman on the touchline. Bale nods. Rodrygo goes off.

59 min: Nacho hits the crossbar with a header! Blimey. He has been on the pitch for mere seconds, and meets a corner with a thunderous header from close range. His effort cannons off the woodwork with the goalkeeper comprehensively beaten. Zidane is about to introduce keen golfer Gareth Bale. Can the Welshman break the deadlock?

57 min: Benzema hits a shot from a tight angle. Simón saves. It’s a testament to Athletic’s defending that the vast majority of opportunities for Madrid have been half-chances. The visitors have tackled, hassled, blocked, closed down, and so far have frustrated their opponents very well. Now Modric is fouled and Sergio Ramos is having a word with the ref.

56 min: Valverde charges through the middle for Madrid but again, it comes to nothing. Nacho is coming on, Militão is going off. Clearly he is not comfortable after that accidental clash with Kodro.

55 min: It looks like Nacho is warming up and is going to come on for Madrid. Whether that’s tactical or because of the injury to Militão, I don’t know.

53 min: Militão gets an accidental hand in the face from Kodro as the visitors look to build an attack. It looks like one of his eyes might have been injured ... It was accidental as Kodro was merely trying to shield the ball from his opponent. Thankfully, Militão looks OK to carry on.

50 min: Kroos switches play for Madrid from left to right. Rodrygo wins a free-kick as he’s brought down by Yuri Berchiche. The German international Krros jogs over and takes the free-kick, in a dangerous position, but Vinicius Jr. has strayed offside.

I’d love to be able to say Real Madrid are in Kroos control, because I love bad puns, but they’re not. They are having to scrap for everything and they need a goal to reflect all this possession ...

48 min: Madrid attack thanks to Vinicius Jr., again, but the ball runs out for a goal-kick on the hosts’ left.

There’s been a goal! But not in Spain. In Italy. The second goal, in fact, of Gennaro Gattuso’s Napoli reign, scored by the exotically-named Alan:

OK, it’s time for #LaLigaMemories Part Three (if you count my trip to Madrid 10 years ago). This is from ... me again:

I watched Malaga play at home about 10 years ago, along with some mates. I can’t remember who they played and it was a poor match. I think their opponents ended up being relegated by a point a few weeks later. I don’t remember there being any foil-wrapped sandwiches.

*ENDS*

Now, the teams are about to come out for the second half! Let’s go!

HT reading material:

Don’t forget to send me your #LaLigaMemories on email or Twitter. Håkan Burden once attended Levante v Rayo Vallecano, and his take-home memory was the foil-wrapped sandwiches. Anyone else got any wild La Liga stories?

Get in touch by email or on Twitter!

40 min: Kroos and Modric link again. The Croatian international, as usual, seems to have an extra second of time compared to everyone else on the pitch. Now Vinicius Jr. finds a cross from the right-hand side of the penalty area, yet again it’s cleared by this over-worked Athletic defence. Benzema then bends a shot high over the bar from an angle. It really does look like a matter of when, not if, Real Madrid score. Gaizka Garitano is employing three centre-backs this evening and the unfamiliar system seems to be causing a bit of confusion in his ranks.

38 min: Lovely work on the left wing from Vinicius Jr. who skips away from a tackle and sends a low cross in, right-footed, from close to the byline. Again the danger is repelled but the ball comes back and again Benzema has a header saved. That’s the fourth time Simón has been called into action in the Athletic goal.

35 min: We’ve got 10 minutes of this half to play. It’s an opening period that Madrid have increasingly dominated. If the visitors can hold out, it would be a miracle, at this rate. But Williams looks dangerous too and they remain a threat on the counterattack.

33 min: Benzema goes close again! After the ball suddenly breaks to him in space, he rounds the goalkeeper but takes the ball wide, to an impossibly tight angle on the right. The Frenchman clips the ball back across goal anyway - and Núñez does well to backheel it out of the danger area from underneath his own crossbar.

32 min: It’s another cross from the Madrid right - Benzema meets it with a good header - Simón saves.

30 min: Another spell of pressure for the hosts. Modric delays a cross for a second or two, then sends a fine ball to the far post looking for Vinicius Jr., with the outside of his foot. It’s cleared for a corner, the Athletic defenders think there was a Real Madrid player offside, but nothing doing.

28 min: Most of the Madrid attacks are coming down their right wing. Rodrygo now crosses from that side of the pitch after a nice-looking first-time pass by Carvajal finds him on the overlap. But it’s a smidgen overhit.

26 min: Los Leones are competing well here. Yuri Berchiche is unlucky the referee adjudges him to have fouled Militão as they run for a long ball into the danger zone for Madrid.

23 min: Williams is causing problems for Madrid. There is a bit of discussion among the home defenders about who is meant to be picking who up. Now, Madrid storm down to the other end, Modric finds another cross for Vinicius Jr. who tries a diving header, but it flies wide.

20 min: Now Athletic go close! Williams is played into space at the other end and charges into the Madrid penalty area. Militão dives to cover, but Williams unleashes a good right-footed shot, which is destined for the bottom corner - but Courtois saves. That would have been against the run of play but Zidane’s men need to stay alert here.

19 min: Toni Kroos hits the crossbar! The style has been switched on! The German international charges straight through the defensive line and finds himself one-on-one with Simón. He tries to clip a left-footed finish beyond the goalie, but Simón stands up impressively, and the ball deflects off his head and on to the crossbar. Lucky escape for the visitors.

18 min: Kroos, Modric and Carvajal link up now and Modric finds a deep cross from the right. But Bilbao survive.

17 min: Back on the pitch, Iñaki Williams shows a lovely first touch in midfield to collect a drilled clearance-cum-pass from a team-mate. But he is isolated, and Sergio Ramos nicks the ball off him, and Madrid attack yet again.

This one hasn’t really got going, just yet, but Madrid are showing signs that they might switch on the style at some point very soon.

15 min: Now, the first email has arrived in my new #LaLigaMemories series, from Håkan Burden. He writes:

“Hi Luke, I was in Valencia for work in 2014 and the day I arrived Levante hosted Rayo Vallecano. It was the late evening game and my fondest memory is all the kids eating sandwiches wrapped in foil at 10 PM. The football left no impressions.”

Great story Håkan. Thank you.

12 min: So nearly the opening goal! Vinicius Jr. exchanges passes with Benzema, bears down on goal, cuts in past the last defender - but Simón saves his effort at close range! Worrying signs for the visitors as Real Madrid’s attacking threats, which are all over the pitch, are starting to make themselves known.

9 min: Modric is at it again, and looks to have recovered from that early twinge. He breezes away from his marker in midfield and then pokes a low pass through, with the outside of his right boot, looking for Vinicius Jr. - but the striker is adjudged offside. Looking at the replay that was very tight ...

8 min: Lekue does well again on the wing for Athletic and lays it back to Yeray, who swings in a good cross. Modric is on hand to clear, though. The visitors are taking opportunities to attack when they get them.

6 min: Benzema now embarks on a driving run into the heart of the Athletic defence, to a central area on the edge of the penalty area, and then tries to lay off a pass to a team-mate on his left. But it’s a poor pass, and easily cleared by the opposition defence.

4 min: Having said Modric looked good, it now appears he may have tweaked something and injured himself. He is holding his back, but looks fine to continue for now. Meanwhile, Lekue makes a dart on the left for Bilbao, and has a shot blocked, their first significant trip into Real Madrid territory.

2 min: Modric finds a yard in midfield and sweeps a fine pass out to the on-rushing Vinicius Jr. on the left wing. Madrid keep the ball for a while, in an advanced position, and the move ends with a right-footed shot by Vinicius JR. which flies low and harmlessly wide. Good signs from Modric early on, though.

Two of the three sides that have never been relegated from Spain’s top flight are in action here. Lovely factoid from the clever people at Premier Sports, there.

Now, there’s a big man-hug between Thibaut Courtois and Sergio Ramos in the tunnel. The teams are about to head out on the pitch. Kick-off is coming up in a couple of minutes ...

Here’s the tweet that confirms Athletic Club’s aforementioned line-up:

As you probably noticed it’s been a busy weekend of football already.

Earlier today, Chelsea’s impressive 2-0 win at Tottenham was marred by racist abuse aimed at Antonio Rüdiger:

Before that, Manchester United slumped to defeat by the Premier League’s bottom club, Watford, who were sent on their way by a real howler by United ’keeper David de Gea:

Have I ever been to the Bernabéu? I have, actually, thanks for asking.

It was almost exactly 10 years ago: Real Madrid had a major scare against lowly Almeria, going 2-1 down in the second half, before beating them 4-2. Cristiano Ronaldo (then in his first season with the club) scored, missed a penalty and was sent off. Karim Benzema scored too. I got my money’s worth that night, no question about it:

What are your top experiences of watching LIVE La Liga football? You can let me know on email or on Twitter if you like - and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts on tonight’s match.