Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has said he was happy to help the team pick up three points over Deportivo La Coruna after the disastrous derby last weekend.
Los Blancos responded to the 4-0 loss at the Vicente Calderon by seeing off Depor 2-0 on Saturday evening, with Isco and Karim Benzema scoring the goals that got Real back on track in La Liga.
While the result was positive, the Champions League holders were not convincing and some of the players including Iker Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo were jeered by the home support.
Speaking after the game though, Bale said the most important thing was to win and start rebuilding some confidence.
“It was a very positive reaction from the whole team after last week’s defeat [to Atletico Madrid]. The three points are important and we remain [League] leaders,” the former Tottenham star stated.
“I’m happy with my performance, although I didn’t score. I always like scoring goals, but the most important thing was that the team got over the loss of the last game.”
He then went on to discuss the upcoming match against Schalke, and admitted the players are determined to try and put the tie beyond doubt in the first leg.
“It’s good to be back in the Champions League. We’ve all been looking forward to it since our last match. We want to win, mark our return with a good result and take control of the tie.”
Watching the matches of Real Madrid, it’s easy to detect the mistakes made by the players. Mistakes happen in a game yes; but the level of occurrence is alarming in R. M.’s games. Illarmandi has a poor vision on any play he is involved. All he does is playing the ball back to his defense. The defense plays too close to the goalkeeper. The players escort their opponents without a real attempt to get the ball away. The connection between the lines (defense, midfield) is defective .
There is too much space left between the defense and the midfield in the attacking phase. The coaches have to review their system especially when some of their players don’t play with their heart . Last year team had more determination and was willing to win. No pressure on the ball , the plays are too slow, static. Too many passes to the back. No aggressivity in R.M. games anymore. What a disgrace shows for a world champion team. It’s imperative for Real to get back their identity on the pitch.