A poacher’s goal, in the right place at the right time, and a fortunate touch on a Cristiano Ronaldo shot may well prove to be the turning point for Gareth Bale. They were his first goals in nine games and came after a week in which he was pin-pointed as the problem at Santiago Bernabeu, a lack of assists as well as goals leading to calls for Bale to be dropped.
Carlo Ancelotti stood firm, insisting that neither Bale nor Ronaldo or Karim Benzema would be sacrificed and, in the penultimate game before the Clasico, Bale was on the receiving end of a major confidence boost. More than the overall performance, it is the contribution that will do Bale the world of good as the world’s most expensive player had a telling effect on the match for the first time in too long, picking up 50 EuroFantasyLeague points.
Quite why Bale was the subject of so much scorn in the weeks prior is hard to say. It’s true Bale hadn’t been meeting the ultra-high standards of the Bernabeu – but that was the case for a number of players as Madrid fought a mid-season stumble. The Press, at least, were harder on Bale than on some of his teammates. The price tag may be a factor but the money Madrid paid Tottenham Hotspur for him is hardly Bale’s fault – he didn’t sign the cheque, and the man who did, Florentino Perez, took the media to task for their treatment of the 25-year-old.
It appears then that Bale was as much caught in the crossfire between Perez and the media as anything else, and targeting Bale was a way of targeting Perez. At Madrid, a club where the extent of the political intrigue is of a truly Shakespearean magnitude, Bale now found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, a player going through a slump as his team did likewise. An easy target, and the only way he could respond was on the pitch. Against Levante, he did.
Bale’s goals might not have been met with universal acclaim – Ronaldo’s begrudging celebration only adding to the gossip – but that perhaps says more about the single-minded Ronaldo than anything else, and is surely not a surprise after almost six years of the Portuguese at Los Blancos. Bale’s own celebration, by contrast, hands-over-his-ears and kicking corner flags, was the mark of pent-up frustration – perhaps with himself, maybe towards his critics – finally finding an outlet.
Next up is a trip to Camp Nou, the ideal place for both Bale and Madrid to show they’re back to something approaching their best. In a tight-as-can-be title race this really is the game that could decide the destination of the Primera – win and Madrid are two points clear; lose and they’re four points adrift. A draw keeps things in the balance a little longer but after this week, Bale’s place is more secure than ever.
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