Gareth Bale shows sparks of life as Real secure first place

Gareth Bale showed signs of promise as he opened the scoring in an important win for Real Madrid that secured first place in their Champions League group.

Neither Gareth Bale nor Real Madrid have lived up to expectations this season after the departures of Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer. Much was made of the fact this was Bale’s team after the departure of the Portuguese star, especially because Los Blancos decided not to replace him. However, this has looked like a mistake based on early-season performances and results with Julen Lopetegui already axed.

Santiago Solari received the caretaker role after being promoted from the Castilla job in what was expected to be a temporary appointment, but a perfect start with four wins saw him earn the role permanently. Losing 3-0 to Eibar was an ignominious way to start his permanent tenure, so a response was needed against the side from the Italian capital even though Viktoria Plzen’s win over CSKA Moscow in the early kickoff guaranteed qualification to the knockout stages.

The former Real Madrid player has shifted the team’s style away from Lopetegui’s patient possession-based approach to a system that prioritizes quick transitions and focuses on using the wings in the attacking shape. It’s similar to the style that Zidane utilized and brought such success in Europe, which means the squad is suited to it. The results under Lopetegui suggested the team wasn’t suited to his approach and Bale was certainly one of the players set to benefit from this switch.

Bale was mostly a bystander in the first half as Roma’s youthful attack imposed themselves on the game and had the better chances. Cengiz Under should have scored just prior to halftime as he blasted a sitter over the bar from just a few yards out. The Welshman made the young Turkish international pay for this miss as he profited from a poor clearance by Robin Olsen and a Federico Fazio defensive error to finish an easy chance early in the second half.

This proved to be crucial as Roma were forced to chase the game, so Real were able to absorb pressure and quickly break on their opponents with large gaps in the opposition. Bale was a crucial aspect of this due to his pace and dribbling ability, and it didn’t take long for him to have another opportunity as Marcelo played him in for a one-on-one against Robin Olsen, after a Roma corner, but he was unable to finish past the Swedish goalkeeper.

The Spanish side’s second came not long after, though, as a quick transition saw the 29-year-old receive the ball just outside the box and his cross found Karim Benzema who was able to nod down for Lucas Vazquez to score an easy finish as Roma desperately tried to re-form their defensive shape. They had a number of chances after this, but they were unable to capitalize.

Real have won four of their five group stage matches, which is in stark contrast to their form in the league, where they have lost five times in just 13 games and currently occupy sixth spot. Bale’s best performances have mostly come in Europe this season so this is likely to be a big reason behind their league struggles as they can’t afford to have such a key player be so inconsistent week in, week out. The goal against Roma was his third in the competition to go along with two assists, which is exactly the same as his tally in the league, even though he’s played eight more games in that competition.

Bale came to the Spanish capital with a large price tag and injuries have certainly hindered his impact at the club. This is his last real chance to assert himself as the main player at the club, at least in an attacking sense, because Florentino Perez isn’t a patient man and he will aim to end their poor form with signings in the next few transfer windows. In Solari, Bale has a manager willing to play to his strengths, so more is needed from him this season, but this performance was a promising sign for the future.