Madrid's Gareth Bale plays an hour for Wales in win over Azerbaijan
The forward had not played since the last international break
Gareth Bale is a different player when he is with the national team. The Welsh forward said as much in a press conference on Friday, when he admitted he's more excited to play for his country than his club, Real Madrid.
Bale demonstrated as much again on Saturday, when he was named in the starting lineup for Wales' vital Euro 2020 qualifier against Azerbaijan.
Bale has not played for Madrid for 43 days, when he featured against Granada on Oct. 5. He got injured in Wales' game the following week against Croatia on Oct. 13 and has been sidelined ever since, now returning in another game for his country.
He looked set to leave in the summer but ended up staying. Zinedine Zidane even gave him plenty of minutes early on in the campaign despite having previously said it would be better if Bale "left tomorrow."
However, his relationship with Los Blancos is now at an all-time low. Playing for Wales will only make things worse.
Wales won the game against Azerbaijan 2-0, with both goals scored before Bale was taken off in the 60th minute. Wales are in action again against Hungary in a few days. They need a win to confirm their place at Euro 2020.
🇦🇿🏴 There's just 3️⃣0️⃣ minutes to go until kick off here in Baku.
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) 16 de noviembre de 2019
Here's a reminder of our Starting XI. #AZEWAL | #TogetherStronger | #TheRedWall pic.twitter.com/YwA60jcqGB
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