Real Madrid Defeat Real Sociedad Despite a Mixed Afternoon for Gareth Bale

Real Madrid recorded their seventh consecutive home league victory with a 4-1 win against Real Sociedad on Saturday, despite a mixed performance from Gareth Bale.

With Cristiano Ronaldo restricted to the stands following his red card against Cordoba last weekend, the match was billed—by AS, and others—as Bale’s opportunity to show that he could step out of the shadow of the Portuguese star and lead Madrid to victory.

He came into the match on the back of three consecutive goalscoring performances and with a good record in previous matches in which Ronaldo had not been involved.

He was, however, unable to extend either of those runs on Saturday, as it was other players who stepped up and provided the impetus for what was eventually a comfortable victory.

The 25-year-old started on the left of a three-man forward line, with the same license to move infield and switch positions with Karim Benzema that Ronaldo usually enjoys. Yet he struggled to get himself involved during the first half, with Madrid’s most dangerous attacking moves largely involving Isco, James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos and the two full-backs.

Madrid built attack after attack down the left, with Isco and Marcelo linking superbly. They also profited from numerous diagonals from left to right, either out wide to the advancing Dani Carvajal or into the area into the path of Benzema or the inrushing Rodriguez.

Both of their first-half goals came from the latter route. Rodriguez superbly headed home a Marcelo cross to quickly equalise La Real’s early opener, and Sergio Ramos then fired home the rebound from a Benzema shot following another ball into the area from Marcelo.

It was, then, perhaps unsurprising that in his desire to make a positive impression on the match, Bale produced a moment that provided further fuel for those in the Spanish press who argue that he is too selfish in front of goal

Benzema broke free down the left into the penalty area before squaring the ball into the path of the incoming Rodriguez, who looked poised to provide a finishing touch with the goalkeeper out of position. Instead, Bale nudged Rodriguez aside before firing just wide past a covering defender.

Rodriguez looked far from happy, and there were a few groans inside the Bernabeu when Bale fired a late first-half free-kick well over the bar from the edge of the area.

The Welshman was brighter and far more involved in the early exchanges of the second half. He produced two lovely flicks around the corner to Isco either side of assisting the third goal on a nice interchange with Benzema. He also had a headed rebound from a Marcelo shot cleared off the line.

The tempo of the match dropped a little thereafter, with Madrid content to play within themselves and conserve their energy for Wednesday’s match against Sevilla. Benzema added a fourth with a superb strike from the edge of the area following a wonderfully cushioned return pass from Isco and then Bale had a final chance to get his name on the scoresheet.

He stole the ball in midfield and drove through on goal, only to be denied by a good save from the away goalkeeper, Geronimo Rulli, who kept himself big and made things as difficult as possible.

It was nevertheless an excellent opportunity spurned, which is also the way in which Bale may look back at Saturday’s match in general.

While he has posted broadly impressive numbers and scored some vital goals—including the go-ahead goals in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League finals last season—since joining Madrid in the summer of 2013, he is not the central figure that he was at Tottenham Hotspur.

Per data from Soccerway, in his last season at White Hart Lane, Bale scored 31.81 percent of Tottenham’s league goals; prior to Saturday’s match, that figure had dropped to 14.88 percent during his time in Madrid.

Ronaldo (35.12 percent) is clearly the main man at the Bernabeu. But with the Portuguese star absent through suspension, Saturday’s match provided Bale with a perfect opportunity to make a case to Carlo Ancelotti for greater freedoms.

While he had some good moments, he failed to truly seize that chance and will now hope to make amends with a more consistent and productive display at home to Sevilla on Wednesday.