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#2 Karim Benzema can take hope from Gareth Bale's resurrection
You would expect a player returning from injury to be cheered on, but then again the Bernabeu is a strange place. Karim Benzema was jeered on, while Borja Mayoral, who had missed two very presentable chances was cheered off. Footballers are human after all, and Benzema would surely have felt a twinge of sadness at being booed even when not even having had the chance to fail yet.
The Frenchman can take hope from Gareth Bale's situation - the Welshman was booed much of last year, but tonight, he went off to a standing ovation - my how he deserved it. Bale's opener was absolutely worthy of a player of his standing - a golazo that would be the pride of any footballer.
However, it wasn't just his headed goal later on that was a credit to Bale. The Welshman was involved throughout most of Real Madrid's moves, dovetailing superbly with Luka Modric, Dani Carvajal and Casemiro on his side of the pitch. Zinedine Zidane will be praying that he stays fit, as Bale's goals+assists-per-minute in the 2017/18 season is truly something special.
