Roy Keane: Real Madrid played with 10 men against Juventus; Gareth Bale did nothing

Gareth Bale’s performance against Juventus was criticised heavily by Roy Keane

Gareth Bale’s miserable performance against Juventus attracted a lot of criticism his way worldwide, with TV pundit and Manchester United legend Roy Keane disparaging him for his inability to perform. Bale endured a night to forget as he couldn’t do much in Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss to the Italian champions.

“You can’t win a game with 10 men. Gareth Bale gave Real Madrid nothing tonight,” Keane said.

He added, “You could see a lack of confidence, but he kept making the easy decision. The reason he is at Real Madrid is to be brave, to get at people, but every time he got it tonight – even in one-v-ones – he turned back and, again, his team-mates can’t be happy with him because he took the easy option every time.”

Ancelotti blames Bale’s performance on tiredness

Bale was starting his first match for Real in about a month’s time following a calf injury, and manager Ancelotti believes that fatigue was the prime factor behind the Welshman’s poor performance.

He said, “Gareth Bale was tired. He’s just back from an injury and he’s too important for us. He is our most dangerous player, and because he was tired, I just preferred not to take any risks with him, so I took him off.”

When asked about the result, the Italian said, “Juve are in a rich vein of form. They’ve got a lot of enthusiasm, but this is a knockout match; a semi-final, and the crowd can help us at home. This is a negative result, but it’s not so bad. It’s all going to be decided at the Bernabéu.”

Juventus left-back Patrice Evra praised his teammate Carlos Tevez, saying, “Carlos Tévez has United blood like myself. He is a champion. He has had a fantastic year and we want to win the Champions League. He is a massive professional. But for us, the most important thing was the win. It is never easy against Real and I am very proud of my team-mates and staff.”