When Gareth Bale completed his hat-trick in the final minute of Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Valladolid at the Santiago Bernabeu last Saturday, he became only the second British player ever to notch a treble in La Liga. Gary Lineker, for Barcelona against Real Madrid in 1987, was the first.
Bale left the Bernabeu on Saturday night with the match ball and a tally of nine goals overall for the season, eight of them coming alongside six assists in his last seven appearances. Not only was Bale’s triple the purist’s perfect hat-trick – left foot, right foot and head – it was augmented by the latest of those assists, setting up Karim Benzema for Madrid’s second.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti has said that Bale’s adaptation to Real Madrid is now complete which, if it is true, and nobody would argue with on the basis of his recent form, represents remarkable progress. Close to full fitness after a thigh injury and the general disruption surrounding his transfer, the Welshman has become a regular fixture in the starting line-up at his new club.
After a summer of injury and speculation conspired to deprive Bale of any pre-season or early season action with Tottenham and delay his move to the Spanish capital, the 24-year-old finally joined Real Madrid for a reputed €91m, becoming the world’s most expensive player in the process. With the weight of expectation heavy on his shoulders, Bale netted on his debut for Los Blancos at Villarreal but was then sidelined, having played with an injury and without much preparation.
Cristiano Ronaldo sat out Saturday’s win, leaving Bale to fill the centre-stage limelight role normally occupied by the Portuguese, not that Bale is in any way seeking to usurp Ronaldo’s position at the centre of all things at Real Madrid. An intelligent player on many levels – how many British exports even pretend to learn the language? – Bale has quickly built an understanding with Ronaldo, who commented last week that working alongside Bale was like playing with Wayne Rooney.
A player capable of lighting up any match with his individual brilliance, Bale has shown what a valuable team asset he is too. None other than Zinedine Zidane has labelled him ‘the complete attacking player’ for his all-round ability. “He can score, he has pace, he can create and he is a specialist from set pieces,” added the former Bernabeu legend.
Bale showed his creativity in spades against Valladolid. Apart from laying on the perfect pass for Benzema – another improving figure on Saturday – Bale linked well with the Frenchman and also with Isco, Angel di Maria and former Tottenham teammate Luka Modric as Real Madrid continued to develop from a group of individuals into an exciting attacking unit.
Bale is hitting form at exactly the right time. As Barcelona begin to falter, Ancelotti’s men are in the ascendancy and Bale will have a key role in maintaining their upward trajectory.
