Deplorable attitude shown by Bale at Levante
If it is possible for a victory to leave a bad taste in the mouth, Real Madrid's win at Levante last night was such a case in point. A win is worth three points whether you play well or not, but for Levante, losing as they did must have hurt. They’ll have the consolation of knowing they put in a good performance, but came away empty-handed because they were denied by the woodwork twice, Bardhi gave away a senseless penalty and the linesman cooked up another one. All of that left them defeated after a game in which they seized the initiative from the start and played with great spirit. The home fans enjoyed watching their team take Madrid to task - just as much as they were enraged by Madrid, the match officials and VAR - that phantasm which impacts on our game.
Vinicius, the best of a bad bunch
Madrid were left with three points but that’s about all. They played poorly. All of the first choice players featured in the starting line-up but many of them seemed to have their minds on the next three games. Kroos didn’t play well, and neither did the Varane-Casemiro-Nacho triangle. Nacho was sent off for picking up two bookings in open play – a clear sign of how he has been struggling against opponents this season. The best of the bunch was Vinicius - incessant in his forays upfield and constantly creating danger although he still lacks precision when delivering the final ball or shooting but that will come. In the meantime, his insistence in creating chances for the team compensates for his shortcomings.
Moody Bale
And coming back to the more disagreeable part, the worst was Bale. There’s no doubt that the emergence of Vinicius has stolen his thunder and it’s clearly affecting him. He came on when the game was entering its final stages, with a face like a wet weekend, he stepped up to take the penalty (droit du seigneur for being Florentino’s pet), converted from the spot then shrugged off his team mates as they rushed over to try and celebrate with him. That was not a very nice sight to see. Bale had made it 1-2, Madrid were on course to winning the game and his team mates wanted to give him a pat on the back but instead, he resisted. With that, he showed a deplorable attitude which kind of sums up how he fits in with the Madrid squad. We already know that he doesn’t bother going to the group dinners the players organize. His snub and lack of solidarity with his team mates was the worst part of last night’s game.