The win moved Real to second place in the Liga table with 29 points, one behind leaders Barcelona.

Luis Prieto gave Athletic the lead from a 35th minute free-kick but substitute Ronaldo netted the equalizer four minutes past the hour.

The Brazilian ace controlled a long pass before slamming the ball past the hapless Bilbao keeper.

Athletic were reduced to ten men Artiz Aduritz for elbowing Mahamadou Diarra in the 71st minute and Real Madrid made the best of it.

With eight minutes to play, Roberto Carlos unleashed a trademark long range drive that settled in the back of the net.

Elsewhere, Sevilla were handed a 2-1 defeat at Espanyol, which not only denied them the Liga summit, but also dropped them to third place behind Real with 28 points.

Despite taking the lead from a Fredi Kanoute penalty kick before the interval, Sevilla fell behind thanks to second half goals from Raul Tamudo and Luis Garcia.

In other matches, Racing Santander held Deportivo La Coruna to a goalless stalemate, Osasuna beat Real Zaragoza 2-1, Mallorca and Celta Vigo played out a 2-2 draw, and Villarreal cruised past Gimnastic with a 2-0 win while Real Sociedad and Getafe settled for a 0-0 draw.