Nacho and Asensio score late to give Real Madrid 2-0 win at Cadiz

Nacho and Marco Asensio scored within four minutes late in the second half to give Real Madrid a 2-0 win at lowly Cadiz on Saturday and cut Barcelona's lead in LaLiga to 10 points.

Second-placed Real maintained their slim title chances by moving up to 62 points, behind Barcelona who travel to Getafe on Sunday. Atletico Madrid are third on 57 points and host Almeria on Sunday.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Madrid dominated the match with more than 70% of possession and had several opportunities including three shots that hit the post and several critical stops by an inspired goalkeeper David Gil.

They did not manage to score until the 72nd minute when defender Nacho collected a pass from Aurelien Tchouameni and unleashed a fantastic long-range strike which went into the bottom left corner.

Four minutes later, Asensio extended their lead by netting a strike from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner.

Madrid next visit Chelsea in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday.

"I think we played a good game," goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. "We created a lot of chances before the first goal. David Gil played a great game. Nacho had to score, but we played well. They hit the post but after that we controlled the game, we had a lot of chances.

"We're happy, we've have liked to score more goals but I hope we've saved them for Tuesday!"

After losing two of their previous three league games and seeing their title chances fall further away, Carlo Ancelotti's side were back to their best despite the absence of a number of their key players.

Midfielder Toni Kroos and Brazil winger Vinicius Jr, arguably Real's most influential player this season, both missed the trip down south suffering from muscle strains in their legs. Ancelotti said he expects both to be fully fit to face Chelsea.

With the LaLiga title virtually out of reach, Real have turned their attention to other battle-fronts.

They eased past Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate in the round of 16 of the Champions League and beat Chelsea 2-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinal earlier this week. They also remain in the running for the Copa del Rey title after thrashing rivals Barcelona 4-0 in the semifinals.

Defender Alfonso Espino had Cadiz's best chance early on during a counter attack, with his low shot from inside the box bouncing off Courtois's left post.

That proved to be a fleeting opportunity for the hosts.

Benzema missed two sitters in the first half and Rodrygo was often dangerous, only stopped by a brilliant Gil.

Cadiz held as much as they could but after 25 goal attempts, Madrid finally broke the deadlock with Nacho and secured the three points with Asensio's effort just a few minutes later.

"I focus on the way the team played, it was a good game at an important moment of the season," Ancelotti said. "It wasn't easy to prepare for this game but the attitude of the players on the pitch was spectacular."

Information from ESPN's Alex Kirkland was used in this report.