I doubt it. He wouldn't be playing if he'd be halfassing it, at least I think Zidane wouldn't give him any minutes. There was a moment where he stretched his leg to make a last ditch right cross and he was checking up on his calf muscle. I think others deserve the starting spot but I think Zidane would have forgot about him if he would have been lazy or unfocused.
I don't see any effort by Bale but I actually think that this also more to do with mental than it is physical. The injuries he's sustained have effected him some way or another.
I don't even know why Bale is still a discussion. Bale should have been gone 2 years ago. Bale is just like his Welsh counterpart; Ramsey. Cut from the same cloth. He did have potential but combination of being made out of glass and lack of effort makes him very average. NEXT!
Wild facts: Since 2013/14, Bale has missed 83 games for Real Madrid due to injury. Dembélé since 2017/18 has already missed 76 games. But the crazy part is Ousmane has been out injured for MORE days with 412 against Gareth's 406.
Nothing he did came off last game, even simple passes back to the fullback were misplaced. He shanked one header way off target that was easier to score than miss. He looks like Karim from a few years ago, no confidence and no vigor.
Bale was injured for more but it's hidden, just like how he's "rested" after a knock sometimes but he disappears for a month lol. Or how he's refusing the club to publish injury statements.
If that were one calendar year or one season I would have to admit thos are not "bad" numbers. For a year and a half still not terrible and I would venture to say Hazard will not post as good of stats after 1.5 seasons.
yes because football is all about stats right? we all know when bale isnt scoring he’s getting involved in build up play, playing nice one-twos, creating havoc on the other teams defense. Yea that’s definitely what he does right. like I said the level I ignorance is profound. this isn’t even a hazard thing, it’s a Bale is a horrible player thing
I thought he was talking strictly about stats. He said he would venture that Hazard won't have 17 goals and 9 assists in the same time frame. He could be right since Hazard has a had a slow start statistically here. Now no one likes Bale as a player here..not even @4x4s so i don't think anyone here would dare suggest Bale is a better player because he simply is not
Hazard is the most expensive player in Real Madrid history, I think a bit more than "playing nice one twos" should be expected. We're getting those out of a teenager with Vinicius.
Before Bale became what he is today he destroyed, in big occasions, cup finals, CL finals and the works. If the comparison for Hazard at his peak is Bale at his decline then we're f*cked.
You can't compare it through the years without normalizing the data. Hazard cost us one half amount of the current biggest transfer. Our earlier "most expensive players" were biggest transfers until the moment. When you put it into relative scale, you get that we didn't pay much for Hazard. When he's healthy, he'll be worth the money. It's not such a huge money at the current market.