By David Lee Wheatley
Gareth Bale bagged two goals of his own and set up another
two for Real Madrid as they romped to an emphatic 7-3 victory against Sevilla
at the Bernabeu last night.
After a listless display in El Clasico last Saturday versus
arch-rivals Barcelona, many in the Spanish media seemed determined to denounce
Bale as a waste of money. This was in spite of the fact that he’d hardly played
for Los Blancos since his world-record end of summer transfer from Tottenham
through a catalogue of injuries that severely hampered his ability to settle into
his stride in the Spanish capital.
Despite such strong and unwarranted criticism, the Welshman didn’t
appear to be letting it affect him when playing an instrumental part in
everything good about the home side yesterday evening. The winger was the chief
reason they held a handy cushion to fall back on when Sevilla made a concerted effort
to get back into the match from three-down, at one stage advancing to within
one goal of their illustrious opponents.
Just 27 minutes in, Bale had already notched a nifty double
to put his new club in command of the clash, before goalscoring phenomenon
Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a third. A few jittery moments ensued when Sevilla
brought the score back to 3-2 with five minutes of the first-half remaining
through a Rakitic penalty and a Bacca strike. However, Benzema and Ronaldo
stretched the lead further after the break prior to Sevilla grabbing a third,
before the Portuguese superstar completed a fine hat-trick and Karim Benzema
sealed the game with his second through a neat header.
Cristiano’s treble elevated him above the great Ferenc
Puskas into fourth spot on the all-time scorer chart with an incredible 157. It’s
a mark of the player that he’s reached such a landmark at the relatively young
age of 28 and with many more years in the tank. At just 24, Bale will look to
emulate his feted colleague in becoming a living legend in the eyes of those
fans that behold him at the Bernabeu during his spell there; on this evidence,
he may well have a realistic chance to do just that.
Twitter: @davewh1980
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