Real Madrid: Could Gareth Bale start in the Copa del Rey despite recent behavior?
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has had quite a bizarre week. After rumors emerged that Chelsea could be pushing to sign the Welsh international and Marcelo made comments about Bale’s personal behavior, the number 11 brushed off celebrating teammates after scoring the game-winner against Levante. Could he now start the Copa del Rey second leg Wednesday?
Don’t take too much time watching Gareth Bale score Real Madrid’s winning goal against Levante in La Liga. HIs celebration left many fans of the club wondering what was going on internally.
But, as reports are indicating, both manager Santiago Solari and Lucas Vazquez have no problem with Bale’s anger on the pitch. In fact, the former Madrid player turned coach could look to the 29-year-old to start against FC Barcelona in just a couple days.
The manager and Bale’s position rival have apparently already moved on from the match as a whole and are only preparing for the coming two matches with Barca.
Players in the training session on Monday made jokes with Bale regarding the situation and laughed it off.
It will be very interesting to see what Solari does with his players for these next two matches having faced the Catalans just a few weeks ago. There is only so much that can be changed around, so the boss needs to be creative with his tactics.
In the first leg at the beginning of this month, Vazquez started on the right wing and Bale was brought on in the 64th minute for Vinícius Júnior. After starting Vazquez against Levante, Solari could be ready to give Gareth Bale a start in a huge tie.
It is impossible to forget what the Welsh Dragon did against Barca in the Copa del Rey final in 2014, sprinting past Marc Bartra and scoring the game-winning goal in the dying minutes.
I think that after scoring the clutch goal on Sunday, the man deserves to start in the Bernabéu. Many fans and media members have been unhappy with Bale’s defensive contributions and ability to help in the attack in recent appearances.
That has been the case because of the incredible partnership that Vinícius and Karim Benzema have quickly created. This should not excuse Gareth from his lack of production, but it is a key cog in the recent dip in form.
Next. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona prepare for huge week in football and basketball. dark
Wednesday night’s Copa tie is likely the biggest of Real Madrid’s season thus far and a strong squad that can test the Barca back four is crucial. I do think Bale is one of those players who can do that for Los Blancos.
Have faith in him.