Wednesday 13 May 2015 00:05, UK
After his much-criticised performance in Real Madrid’s Champions League defeat to Juventus last week, we preview Gareth Bale’s impending duel against Patrice Evra in Wednesday’s second leg clash at the Bernabeu…
The spotlight will be on Gareth Bale when Real Madrid look to overturn their 2-1 defeat to Juventus in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg at the Bernabeu. The former Tottenham forward has been on the receiving end of fierce criticism in recent months, and the heat was cranked up following his ineffective performance in last week’s first leg clash in Turin, with his agent Jonathan Barnett forced to jump to his defence in the wake of the game.
Spanish football expert Terry Gibson also believes Bale has become an “easy target” for the Spanish press, who were particularly scathing of the Welshman in the fall-out of last week’s game in Turin. “It’s been building up for a while now,” the former Manchester United striker told Sky Sports. “He is an easy target. I personally think this is a vendetta in the Spanish press that is used as a weapon against Florentino Perez, who is not a popular president with the press and was the person responsible for going all out to get Gareth Bale.
“We cover every game for Real Madrid and I’ve not noticed huge sections of the crowd getting on his back. I still think the Real Madrid supporters in general still like and appreciate him, but there’s an agenda from the (Spanish) press that he’s going to have to work hard to change.”
On Wednesday night Bale has the opportunity to silence his critics in what’s shaping up to be his – and Real Madrid’s – biggest game of the season. Barcelona are now all but certain to lift the Primera title, so Madrid’s hopes of silverware rest on the Champions League.
“He needs to go into it being as professional as he can and treat it like any other game,” said Gibson. “Every single game you want to prove people right or wrong, but for him the biggest thing is Real Madrid winning.”
Duel
Bale will still hope to play a key role against Juventus, but if he is to impress he will need to win his duel with Patrice Evra – the former Manchester United left-back he faced on numerous occasions during his time in the Premier League.
Unlike Bale’s blockbuster £85m transfer from Tottenham to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013, Evra’s move to Juventus passed with little fanfare. The French international was seen as a spent force in many quarters when he left Manchester United for just £1.2million in the summer, but he has proved a shrewd acquisition for the newly-crowned Serie A champions.
Evra turns 34 on Friday and is well-suited to the gentler tempo of Italian football. He has made 30 appearances in all competitions and become a key member of a formidable back four which has kept a remarkable 28 clean sheets in 51 games.
Evra has featured in eight out of 11 Champions League fixtures so far, and Giorgio Chiellini is the only Juventus defender to have averaged more than Evra’s 2.4 interceptions and two tackles per game in Serie A matches this season. “You get the impression that you’re like a bottle of wine here,” Evra told Canal Plus last month. “The older you get, the better the taste.”
Bale spent much of the first leg clash in a central role and rarely came up against Evra directly, but he is expected to return to his usual position on the right of Madrid’s front three at the Bernabeu, which sets up an intriguing duel.
Bale advantage?
Juventus are likely to adopt a defensive approach as they look to protect their slender advantage at the Bernabeu, but Gibson believes that could play into Bale’s hands.
“It will be interesting to see if Evra pushes forward because that’s been one of the accusations of Bale, that he doesn’t defend enough,” said the former Manchester United and Wimbledon striker. “If Evra wants to have an effect on the game and he does push forward, then it might nullify the threat of Bale because he’ll have to chase him.
“But are Juventus going to do that when they are 2-1 up at the Bernabeu? It may play into the hands of Bale if he doesn’t have to track back much. If Evra stays in his left-back position then I would imagine that Bale would like the opportunity to take on a player in his mid-30s and run him up and down that flank.”
Bale’s pace and power can cause problems for Evra, and his ability with the ball at his feet is shown by the fact that Isco is the only Real Madrid player to have averaged more dribbles per game than the Welshman in the Champions League this season. Despite only succeeding with one dribble in the first leg, Bale has averaged 2.7 per 90 minutes in Europe this campaign.
However, Gibson feels Bale is not a natural fit for his right-wing role in Carlo Ancelotti’s side. “It’s too restrictive,” he said. “He stays too much on the right flank. We see him crossing balls with the outside of his left boot from the right wing position, which is really awkward. He still does it but you can tell it’s not the position he would like to play.”
Evra will look to show Bale down the line and stop him from cutting in on his stronger foot.
Confidence
While Evra will be fresh for Wednesday’s clash having been rested for Juve’s 1-1 draw with Cagliari at the weekend, Bale was boosted by a much-improved individual display in Madrid’s 2-2 draw with Valencia. Los Blancos failure to take three points has probably cost them the title, but Bale’s performance was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing afternoon.
After being a peripheral figure against Juventus, the forward can take confidence from a dynamic performance in which he struck the crossbar with a free-kick, won a penalty which was missed by Cristiano Ronaldo and played five key passes, including an assist when he laid the ball off for Isco to equalise following a driving run inside from the right flank.
Bale’s difficult season has led to speculation he could leave the club this summer, but Gibson has dismissed suggestions that he has failed at the Bernabeu. “It would be great to see Bale get a big goal for Real Madrid again,” said Gibson.
“He did last year and if he was to leave at the end of this season we would still talk about the goal in the Champions League final and the unbelievable goal in the Copa del Rey final to beat Barcelona. There’s no way the accusations can be put to Bale that he has been a failure at Real Madrid. It’s not an easy club to succeed at and he would like to do better, but I’m sure he’ll stay.”
But before thoughts turn to the summer, Bale will be fully focused on Wednesday’s game. Winning his duel with Evra and helping Madrid into their second consecutive Champions League final would be a perfect response to his critics.
Watch Real Madrid v Juventus live on Sky Sports 1 HD this Wednesday from 7pm
