Who needs Cristiano Ronaldo? Gareth Bale hailed as a 'leader' by Spanish press

£86m Welshman opened the scoring with stunning free-kick in Ronaldo's absence

Gordon Tynan
Thursday 28 November 2013 07:35 EST
Comments
Gareth Bale celebrates his free-kick in the 4-1 win over Galatasaray on Wednesday
Gareth Bale celebrates his free-kick in the 4-1 win over Galatasaray on Wednesday (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Gareth Bale has been hailed as a “leader” by the Spanish press, after his fine performance in the Champions League against Galatasaray on Wednesday night was capped by a ferocious 30-yard free-kick, one of the best scored by the £86m Welshman in his career to date.

In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was out of the 4-1 victory with a leg muscle strain, Madrid-based daily newspaper Marca wrote that Bale was integral to all of Real’s attacking in the win, and that the 24-year-old “shone” at the Bernabeu.

“The team needed a leader on the pitch and all eyes were on Gareth Bale,” Santiago Siguero wrote in Marca. “Real was at its best when the Welshman shone.”

It was Bale’s second free-kick goal for Madrid since his world record move from Tottenham in the summer, bringing his total up to 11 goals-assists (6 goals-5 assists) from his 12 matches for Real this season.

Watch the free-kick below...

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in