Why Gareth Bale's Starting Place at Real Madrid Is Under Threat

Gareth Bale performed poorly in Real Madrid’s 2-1 Champions League win over Ludogorets in midweek and could soon find his place in the starting XI under threat.

Madrid were quite lethargic as a team on Wednesday but Bale still stood out as one of their most unproductive players. Player ratings are often an arbitrary measure of performance, but it is still telling that both ESPNFC’s Rob Train (4/10) and Goal.com (2.5/5) rated Bale among Madrid’s worst players on the night.

Statistics website WhoScored.com ranked him as the third-worst of Madrid’s starters.

It was a performance that came just a few days after his ineffectual display away to Villarreal, in which he struggled to escape the attentions of home defender Gabriel Paulista. He made few positive contributions and when he did get into attacking areas his end product was disappointing, as illustrated by his FourFourTwo Stats Zone dashboard for the match.

Courtesy of FourFourTwo Stats Zone

It is perhaps a little unfair to criticise him too harshly for a couple of subpar performances. Every player has the odd off-day. Most would be very happy with Bale’s output of five goals and two assists, as per WhoScored, so far this season.

Yet it would also be fair to say that his recent displays have raised questions over what Bale is expected to bring to the team. Goals? Assists? An explosive transition from defence to attack? His role is ill-defined and it is hurting his performances.

Jose Felix Diaz of Marca reports that Carlo Ancelotti is broadly happy with Bale’s offensive output but is concerned that the Welshman is failing to provide the required defensive cover when Madrid lose possession. Madrid’s full-backs have been exposed on numerous occasions during the early part of the season and a large part of that is due to the lack of support they have received from those in front of them.

Ancelotti is concerned that Bale is not making the same contribution to the team that he did towards the back end of last season.

Bale’s recent performances also fit into a broader narrative regarding Madrid’s tactical setup this season. Per Marca, Ancelotti has made it clear that he wants his side to attack as a 4-3-3 and defend as a 4-4-2. But away from the simple alignment of players, Madrid appear to have reached a stylistic crossroads.

Do they simply want to field as many explosive forwards as possible and then seek to move the ball quickly and directly to them whenever possession is won?

Or do they instead want to pack their midfield with technically accomplished players who are capable of skilfully working the ball through the centre of the pitch into the final third, but at the same time are also able to control the tempo of the match through possession?

If Ancelotti prefers the former style—an approach that did, we must remember, win them the Champions League last season—then Bale probably remains the best option. But if he wishes to transition his side towards the latter approach, bringing Isco into his regular starting XI would be the way to do it.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Madrid’s current tactics can leave them short of numbers when they turn over possession in the attacking half. With three forwards, two offensive-minded full-backs and one or more of the central midfielders often ahead of play, there is a lot of ground to cover whenever the ball is lost.

Ancelotti does not possess an athletic holding midfielder capable of protecting the large spaces that open up to their opponents on the counter. Xabi Alonso’s defensive discipline and acute reading of the game were sufficient last season, but there were occasions when even he was exposed—notably the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final victory over Borussia Dortmund.

Teams are able to play out from defence to the centre of the pitch and from there attack the space in behind Madrid’s advanced full-backs.

Changing to a more possession-based approach would certainly not be a catch-all panacea. It would, however, certainly suit Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, while incision would still be provided by the dribbling ability of Isco and James Rodriguez. Madrid would be better set to defend against quick breaks from their opponents.

Such a shift would likely signal some bench time for Bale. Yet even if Ancelotti elects not to go down that path, the Welshman’s regular first-team place could still be in jeopardy.

Rodriguez is very much capable of performing well as part of a front three, while Jese Rodriguez—who impressed in his appearances last season—is expected to return from injury within the next four weeks or so, as per A. Albaladejo of Marca.

If selected, Bale needs to produce a strong performance at both ends of the pitch against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday if he hopes to convince Ancelotti that he is worthy of retaining his place in the starting XI going forward.

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