Gareth Bale Injury Has Been a Blessing in Disguise for Real Madrid

It has been a magnificent week for Real Madrid. 

Coming off the back of a 5-0 win against Levante, they crushed Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield before defeating Barcelona 3-1 in the Clasico on Saturday night.

And all three results were achieved without Gareth Bale.

The Welshman was on the bench for the win at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia after coming back from international duty with a slight muscle injury in his gluteal buttock.

It soon became clear that it was a little more problematic than first thought, and he was ruled out of a return to England to face Liverpool and subsequently the Clasico.

While missing the world's most expensive player is always going to be a blow, many wondered if the team would look more balanced without Bale in the side.

Jon Super/Associated Press

And it turned out that was the case, with the brilliant Isco in fine fettle in all three games.

He scored the fifth in Madrid's rout of Levante, driving toward the penalty area and then wrong-footing the keeper from the edge of the box, sweeping the ball into the top left corner.

But his real achievements lay in helping Madrid control both of the subsequent matches. 

While playing with Bale gives Madrid an amazing edge on the counter-attack, it can also make it hard for Madrid to retain possession at times.

Bale likes to attack aggressively and it usually results in either a chance being created or the ball being lost.

Isco is more careful and precise, and both he and James Rodriguez were particularly impressive against Barcelona.

Paul White/Associated Press

More often than not the Blaugrana take charge of the game with Madrid hitting Barcelona on the break frequently.

However, this was a different affair, after Madrid stabilised following Barcelona's early opening goal.

The Catalan giants still had more possession of the ball, but that's because in the last 25 minutes Madrid were happy for them to have it, as long as they weren't threatening Iker Casillas' goal.

Isco is happy to work in areas that Bale cannot, as exemplified for the third Madrid goal against Barca.

His harrying in midfield caused Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano to get muddled up and the Spaniard stole the ball and darted forward. 

He found Cristiano Ronaldo, who shuffled it on to James, and one more pass saw Karim Benzema in a great position to drill home the goal which sealed the game.

Paul White/Associated Press

Now, if Bale had been available and come on as a substitute for the last parts of the game, Madrid could really have gone to town on Barcelona.

Bale's speed and direct play could have helped Madrid rack up four or five against Luis Enrique's side. 

By suggesting that Madrid were better off without Bale in these games, it's not to say that they don't need the Welshman or that he hasn't been good.

He is a special talent and one that, when used at the right time, is a wrecking ball.

But Madrid gain more balance in tougher games when they just play with two of the "BBC" front line.

Ronaldo can never be dropped, for obvious reasons, while Benzema's hold-up play has come on leaps and bounds and means he's a fixture in the side as well.

Isco left the pitch to a standing ovation from the Santiago Bernabeu, with the crowd also chanting his name.

A poll by Madrid newspaper Marca states that 82 percent of Los Blancos supporters would prefer Isco in the team, with just 18 percent going for Bale. 

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

When asked in his post-Clasico press conference if he would have a tricky decision to make when Bale returns from injury, Ancelotti stated that the winger would return to the side as soon as he was fit.

He said, per Inside Spanish Football: "Bale is fundamental for this team and he will play, but I don’t think of it as just having 11 important players. The competition is good for the entire team."

There may be a political element to that decision, given Bale's status in the squad and global appeal, especially compared to Isco.

But the Italian manager will be pleased to know that if the star does get injured again, as seems to happen fairly frequently where Bale is concerned, he has a replacement piece of the jigsaw that might even fit better than the original.