La Liga 2019/20: 3 Talking Points - Villarreal 2-2 Real Madrid

The Gareth Bale enigma

Gareth Bale capped off a good performance by getting sent off against Villarreal

The Welshman had an immensely productive evening in front of goal. He got on the end of a well worked move to score the first goal, and produced some individual skill to put away the second. Gareth Bale even showed good movement and was involved in most of Real's good attacking moves. He was denied a hattrick on a couple of occasions by good saves or blocks as well.

Yet, there's a feeling around Bale that he's not firing on all cylinders yet. He failed to take this game by the scruff of the neck and drag his side over the line as he did on plenty of occasions in the past. He was renowned for it at Tottenham, even the Welsh national side can lean on him, but he's only produced that sort of performance in phases at Real.

Moreover, he committed two foolish challenges in quick succession to get himself sent off in the last minute, ensuring that Zidane cannot rely on him in the next game when the French boss already has a list of players missing through injury.