The Bernabeu passes judgement on out of favour forward Gareth Bale
The Welshman was whistled by his own supporters in the loss to Barcelona
"Gareth Bale's fine, this rubbish doesn't annoy him." Those were the words of the Welshman's agent after the controversy at Levante. Following Real Madrid's game at the Ciudad de Valencia stadium, all eyes were fixed on Bale for Wednesday's Copa del Rey game. Without Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid's main weapon was Bale. He has been decisive in a Clasico before.
But no. Coach Santiago Solari once again left Bale on the bench for the semifinal second leg against Barcelona. The data is becoming alarming for a player who's shone in big games for the club. He has now only started one of Madrid's last six matches.
With Barça winning, Solari had no choice but to call on Bale to try and turn things around. Before he even got on, though, the coach was already frustrated with him. Bale took longer than necessary to get himself prepared to enter the game. With the score at 0-1, he replaced Lucas Vazquez in the 68th minute. Barça went on to win the game 0-3, with their next two goals coming almost immediately after the ex-Tottenham man came on.
When he came on, he added nothing. In 22 minutes, he only got behind Barça once. His shot was miles off target. How far it was off target, though, was what surprised many people, especially the fans who received the ball. To top it all off, he was flagged offside anyway.
That moment saw the Bernabeu pass sentence on Bale. The stands are fed up of his performances and he was whistled once again.
Madrid's problem is clear. Knocked out of the Copa del Rey and La Liga almost gone, Solari can only really go for the Champions League now to cover up the internal problems that there are in the squad.
Solari's already tried to make peace after Bale's grotesque gesture towards Lucas Vazquez after his goal against Levante -- he snubbed the winger when he tried to celebrate with him. Bale apologised on social media and talked up union. But the image doesn't hide the reality for Madrid and Bale. Unless Florentino Perez doesn't sell him this summer and saves him again, the Bernabeu fans have spoken. Bale's sentenced.
Topics with the letter
