Madrid, February 12 (BNA): Real Madrid tied with Villarreal 0-0 on Saturday in a match in which Gareth Bale participated in his first minutes more than five months ago, according to the Associated Press.
The equalizer left Real Madrid four points ahead of second-placed Sevilla, while the pacesetter continues to struggle without injured striker Karim Benzema, and their team in the Champions League will meet Paris Saint-Germain just three days away.
Bale has not played for a team or national team since his brief appearance for Wales on 1 September in a friendly match against Finland. Prior to that, he made three appearances for Real Madrid in August before a string of injuries, and the COVID-19 infection, saw him exit Carlo Ancelotti’s rotation in favor of young players such as Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio.
With Benzema recovering from a strain in his left hamstring, Ancelotti gave Bale the nod to play as a striker. Bale needed almost the entire first half to finally get involved, but once he did, he showed the same ability he’s always had to produce scoring opportunities.
Only goalkeepers Jeronimo Rulli stopped Bale on three occasions, including one shot that was pushed into his bar in the 56th minute.
Substitute Luka Jovic came close to scoring the winning goal in stoppage time in the second half when he sent his broken shot to the crossbar.
Villarreal, who moved up to fifth, also ran without their best striker as Gerard Moreno sustained a right leg injury.
But Villarreal beat Real Madrid in an intense and sometimes difficult first half.
Besides his surprise pick of Bale, Ancelotti has also started using Marcelo sparingly on the left side of his defence. Marcelo, whose contract expires in June, has been slow to keep pace with winger Samuel Chukwueze, while newcomer Giovanni Lo Celso halted Villarreal’s pass-through attack.
A pass by Lo Celso established Arnaut Danjuma in the heart of the area for back-to-back chances in the 18th. David Alaba blocked his first shot and hit the existing follow-up effort.
But it was Chukwueze and right-back Juan Foyth who repeatedly bypassed Marcelo on the right flank of Villarreal, forcing Real Madrid’s defense to storm into the penalty area.
Vinicius could only respond to the speed pioneers, but he spent as much time complaining about the harsh treatment by defenders as he did to the opponent.
It took Bale until the 42nd minute to finally make an impact, as he caught Casemiro’s long ball behind the defense line and was saved by Rowley.
After the break, Bale came close to a counterattack, pared and fired a left-footed shot, as Rowley had enough to push it across the crossbar.
Rowley had to save Unai Emery’s side two more times by denying Vinicius and Bale before Villarreal could restore parity and maintain the points split deadlock.
Real Madrid face a trip to face Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday with just one win in their last four games and question Benzema’s preparedness.
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