Gareth Bale Bags Brace in Real Madrid's 3-0 Win over Las Palmas

Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 win over Las Palmas during Saturday's La Liga action, as Gareth Bale scored twice.

After a difficult start for the visitors, the Welshman opened the scoring with a clever finish. Karim Benzema converted a penalty on his 400th appearance for the club to make it 2-0, and Bale scored a penalty of his own after the break.

Here's how the match played out:

Real Rest Starters for Juventus

Los Blancos will face Italian champions Juventus on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League, so it wasn't a surprise to see manager Zinedine Zidane rest a bunch of regular starters, as ESPN FC's Robbie Dunne relayed:

Isco's spot on the bench likely means he's in line to start against the Bianconeri, per Dunne. Bale did start, which was a surprise.

Juventus could not afford to rest as many key players on Saturday, as they are involved in a much closer title race in Serie A (one point clear of Napoli) and have rivals AC Milan on the schedule.

Early Las Palmas Dominance

For nearly 30 minutes, the hosts dominated their vaunted opponents, once again underlining just how big their home advantage can be. Las Palmas play in the Canary Islands, which lie much closer to Agadir, the biggest city in mid-southern Morocco, than they do to Spain.

The travel distance often wears down teams from the mainland, and Las Palmas aren't afraid to play a more attacking brand of football than they do on the road. Things were no different on Saturday.

Keylor Navas made several key saves to keep his side level, but once Bale opened the scoring, the hosts lost all momentum.

Bale Delivers

Luka Modric did the hard work for Madrid's opener, as his through-ball split the defence in half and set Bale up beautifully, but the Welshman timed his run to perfection and didn't falter in front of goal.

Per sportswriter Karl Matchett, he has a tendency to come up big when Ronaldo isn't around:

Once Bale broke the Canaries' hearts, Los Blancos pounced. Benzema's penalty goal came before half-time, as he converted on his 400th club appearance.

Bale scored again in the second half, also from the penalty spot

Benzema Scores, but Questions Remain

Benzema may have scored a penalty in the first half, but fans will find it hard to look past his many misses after. The worst came midway through the second half, when Lucas Vazquez teed him up beautifully, but he somehow failed to put the ball away from close range.

Yahoo Sport UK's Andrew Gaffney compared him to Juventus striker and former team-mate Gonzalo Higuain:

Final Notes

Nacho Fernandez left the pitch in the first half with what appeared to be an injury. He was replaced by 19-year-old full-back Achraf Hakimi.

What's Next

Real face Juventus in midweek before they play a key match at home against rivals Atletico Madrid. Las Palmas' next outing will be at Levante.