Gareth Bale Clasico Display Slammed by Media After Barcelona Beat Real Madrid

Gareth Bale's performance during Real Madrid's Clasico loss to Barcelona wasn't worthy of a rating, according to Spanish publication AS.

The Welshman struggled to make an impression during the Camp Nou fixture, which saw Barca prevail 2-1 and extend their lead atop La Liga to four points. Nicholas Rigg, writer for AS' English department, noted the publication's thoughts on Bale's display:

Marca was particularly harsh in its assessment of Bale's prospects as a whole, translated by FourFourTwo writer Andy Murray (who may have muddled the analogy):

While Bale was unlucky to have a goal ruled out in the first half—Cristiano Ronaldo was adjudged to have been offside before flicking the ball into his path—he remained on the periphery during a breakneck encounter in Catalonia.

This was highlighted by Squawka:

Indeed, the offside goal would have been something of a collector's item, per OptaJoe:

Bale completed just 57 percent of his passes throughout the match, the lowest total by quite some distance, per WhoScored.com (Karim Benzema was the next worse outfield player with 68 percent).

Aside from Claudio Bravo in the Barca goal, his 40 touches were also a game low out of those who played 90 minutes, while he also failed to hit the target with a shot or complete a dribble, recorded by WhoScored.

Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

Such difficulties weren't only picked up by the Spanish press, however. Rik Sharma of the Daily Mail noted Bale "continues to regress at Real Madrid."

He provided extra detail, saying the former Tottenham Hotspur star "doesn't fit the profile of Real Madrid, when it comes to football. He is a great player, but one whose pace and power outstrips his technique and tactical acumen."

Telegraph Sport spoke of a "hugely frustrating night," pinpointing the offside goal and a missed chance which fell Bale's way just moments later. Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl wondered if things are going to change for the 25-year-old who set Madrid back £85 million in 2013:

This performance follows Bale receiving jeers from Los Blancos fans in January and plenty of extra scrutiny in the press. Madrid president Florentino Perez recently felt the need to defend him during a news conference which was reportedly called to assure everyone boss Carlo Ancelotti isn't going to be sacked. 

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC reported Perez's comments:

On March 16, Marca slammed the suggestion of BBC writer Andy West that Bale is being made a scapegoat for Madrid's problems. West wrote an editorial which suggested "Marca want Bale out" after publishing what he described as a "vicious attack" on the player.

Marca denied the claims by having a dig at the BBC, per Corrigan:

There's certainly an uneasy air around Bale and his position at Madrid. Speculation continues to suggest he will head back to the Premier League, reported by Jon Harvey of Metro, in order to escape the seemingly unending criticism.

Bale has scored just twice in his last 11 matches, per WhoScored. He hasn't provided an assist since the Jan. 31 win over Real Sociedad and, as seen during the Barca match, has developed a tendency to become invisible when his team needs him.

Although his moments of explosiveness were enough to propel him to stardom at Spurs—where he could get away with not tracking back due to being the team's main attacking threat—he needs to show more to impress at the Bernabeu. His work rate was fine against Barca, but he still failed to insert his dominance in the match.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Everyone knows what Bale can do. His gut-busting run to win this fixture in last year's Copa del Rey final was the former Southampton man at his best. As time has worn on, though, Madrid have needed his game to become far more well-rounded.

He is now a big fish in a giant pond, so to speak, so has the tendency to become inconsequential if he doesn't go out of his way to make a splash.

We saw this during Sunday's match. Jordi Alba appeared at ease when dealing with Bale, despite his lack of physicality, as the weight of expectation hindered the Madrid man's play. The offside goal perhaps summed it all up: Things just aren't going Bale's way.

The press continue to underline this, noted by Perez's comments. While Madrid now appear likely to fall short of capturing this year's title, Bale will have to face up to much tougher questioning if he doesn't find a consistent run of form soon.