A goal with 44 shots in the last three games, all three without the injured Benzema. It is not surprising that Ancelotti surprised Bale in the Ceramics. A controversial decision for many opinionators, but effective for what was seen in the field. The Welshman, who had not played for Madrid since August (168 days), performed with ease in the center forward position. A demarcation that, in reality, is an old yearning for him.
So pure nine acted that Bale did not touch a ball until minute 19. In the first half, in which Madrid did not find themselves on the field and did not have the position, they managed to have a great chance: they punctured a 40-meter pass from Casemiro with precision and only a prodigious hand from Rulli prevented his goal . In the second half, more than the white team, had another two, both, also with a miraculous response from Rulli (one of them hit the crossbar). Ancelotti sat down the Welshman in the 73rd minute and now there is a reasonable doubt as to who will be chosen if Benzema does not have the physique to finish (or start) the match in Paris (Bale is already in the pool).
Ancelotti, a soccer wise man and intuitive coach, wanted to take advantage of the idyll that Bale seems to have in games at El Madrigal, in which until yesterday he had scored five goals in seven appearances, including his first game with Madrid, already played a distant month of September 2013. It was another Bale: short hair and full physique. Madrid had just broken a record with him (the most expensive transfer in history, with 101 million euros). The Welshman finished that campaign with 22 goals in 44 games played.
With Bale, Ancelotti has taken a center forward out of his sleeve and, at the same time, closes the circle. The coach went so far as to explain, in his book ‘Calm Leadership: Winning Hearts, Minds and Games’, how in his first stage at Madrid Jonathan Barnett, the Welshman’s agent, called Florentino telling him that his client wanted to play “more in the center “. “I can’t do that now,” Carlo answered. His successor, Rafa Benítez, was more lax. After visiting Bale in Cardiff (he only traveled before taking the reins of the team for him), he started the season by having the Welshman play second striker, behind Benzema, in a 4-2-3-1. Yesterday, seven years later, Bale played in the center again, this time, as a pure nine.
“Bale starts in Paris? I don’t know, let’s see Benzema”
The question to Ancelotti about Bale’s ownership 168 days after he played his last game with Madrid (August 28) was a must. “He had a major injury in September, when he had started playing. After that it took him time to recover and get in good condition. That’s what happened. He has shown that he is committed”. This move by the coach even suggests a possible ownership if Benzema finally fails to recover for Paris (although the coach has the Frenchman). “I don’t know, we have to wait and see what happens with Benzema. He had the opportunity and he did it, he was dangerous and he was able to score. He did well”, insisted. With regard to Karim, the plan is that today he begins to test himself with the group and that it be tomorrow when he definitively tests himself in training in Paris. Only if there is a surprise and he is not ready to play, it is Bale who would point to the starter…