Gareth Bale: Top 5 performances in a Spurs shirt

Last season’s PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year winner Gareth Bale currently looks all but poised for a move to Real Madrid. As his time at White Hart Lane comes to an end, let’s take a look at some of his finest moments in a Spurs shirt. Note that the numbers don’t represent a ranking system:

1) Hat-trick against Inter Milan, 20th October 2010

Gareth Bale taking on Lucio during Tottenham’s match against Inter Milan in a UEFA Champions League Group A match from 2010 (Getty Images)

This was the moment when Gareth Bale first announced himself to the world. Spurs were losing 4-0 against European champions Inter Milan at the San Siro when Bale scored two wonder goals in quick succession, the first after a surging 50-yard run and then scored a similar goal, this time leaving veteran defender Javier Zanetti trailing. He completed his hat-trick but Spurs lost the game. Nevertheless, this was the first time the world took the Welsh winger seriously.

2) Brace against Norwich City, 27th December 2011

Gareth Bale celebrates scoring his second goal during an English Premier League football match between Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur at Carrow Road on December 27, 2011. (IAN KINGTON/AFP/Getty Images)

This was one of those games where Bale single-handedly won Spurs the game with a couple of excellent goals as they went on to beat Norwich 2-0. His first goal was a finish from 10 yards out after Emmanuel Adebayor laid the ball off to him and the second was a more familiar kind of goal – a blistering run took him beyond the defence before he chipped Norwich ‘keeper John Ruddy, to cement Tottenham’s lead. That game saw arguably one of his better performances that season.

3) Hat-trick against Aston Villa, 26th December 2012

Gareth Bale celebrates his goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park on December 26, 2012 (Getty Images)

Villa had just been thumped 8-0 by Chelsea a few days prior to this match, but were shown no mercy by Bale. The Welshman, whose form had been on the rise throughout the season, scored his first-ever Premier League hat-trick. After Jermaine Defoe’s early second-half goal gave Spurs the lead, Bale decided to pile on the goals with three superb efforts; a searing run on the counter gave him his first goal, while he got his second and third thanks to a cross from Aaron Lennon and a cut-back from Gylfi Sigurdsson, respectively. Villa struggled to cope with the Welshman, who hit a rich vein of form after that particular match.

4) Brace against Lyon, 15th February 2013

Gareth Bale of Spurs scores his team’s match winning second goal from a free kick during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 first leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Olympique Lyonnais at White Hart Lane (Getty Images)

In the first leg of a Europa League match against Lyon, Bale scored two beautiful free-kicks to give Spurs the lead in the tie. The first goal was from 35 yards out while the second one came from a closer range of 25 yards. Bale had now gone accustomed to scoring some excellent goals, but that match demonstrated his ability to score from distance like never before.

5) Brace against West Ham, 25th February 2013

Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring the winning goal during the Barclays Premier League match against West Ham United (Getty Images)

This traditional London derby between two old rivals saw arguably one of Bale’s finest performances of the season. Spurs won the game 3-2 largely due to Bale scoring the first and third goal of the game. His second goal was particularly excellent. In the final minutes of the game, he took aim and unleashed a shot from a little over 30 yards out. His shot dipped menacingly and there was nothing Hammers ‘keeper Jussi Jaaskaleinen could have done to keep it out.