Gareth Bale was the hero for Real Madrid last night as they secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad. The visitors were mediocre for much of the game, with Ronaldo and Benzema’s absence being felt dearly, but Bale popped up to score in the 80th minute to keep Real Madrid’s La Liga hopes alive.
Despite having made only 20 starts, the Welshman grabbed his 19th goal of the season. Bale after a series of fitness concerns finally seems to be back at his best and with Ronaldo and Benzema most likely to be out against Manchester City, the onus will be on Bale to provide the attacking impetus.
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane was confident about Bale rising to the occasion comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Bale has had problems but he could be like Cristiano and play many games," Zidane said.
"It was great to see a player of his importance score a goal ahead of Wednesday. I'm happy for him. He's had a lot of injury problems but I'm very happy to see him play 90 minutes.
"It means that every player is important, they deliver when they play and it's important to know that I have 20 or 21 players who are always ready to play.
"When we play every three days it's always difficult but everyone plays and everyone delivers, and that's the best thing about this team."
The French manager made 5 changes from the team that started against Manchester City and the game looked to b e heading to a goalless draw until Gareth Bale headed in Lucas Vasquez’s cross. Zidane admitted that his side had a tough time against Sociedad.
"We had to suffer and that's what the players did. We were up against a difficult opponent but I'm happy with the work we did and to pick up the points," he added.
Sergio Ramos believesMadrid can still win La Liga
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos believes that Los Blancos can still catch up with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the race for the La Liga title.
He said: "The team were playing for our lives, we didn't have much luck with the chances we created but we kept on insisting. It was a final, we're playing for the league title and we had to keep the pressure on.
"As long as we have a chance we have to fight and sacrifice a lot.
"It's an exciting end to the league season. We would like to be in a different position but now we have to wait and hope that the others slip up."
