Sunday, September 15, 2013
Bale scores on Real Madrid debut
World-record signing Gareth Bale scored on his
Real Madrid debut but his new side were held
to a 2-2 draw by Villarreal.
The Wales forward, an £85.3m summer signing from
Tottenham, played 62 minutes before being
replaced.
Bale, 24, levelled with a tap-in on 38 minutes after
Cani had opened the scoring for the hosts.
Cristiano Ronaldo put Real ahead but Bale's former
Spurs team-mate Giovani Dos Santos equalised on
70 minutes.
Bale's price tag meant he overtook new team-mate
Ronaldo as the world's most expensive footballer.
The Portuguese joined Real for £80m from
Manchester United in 2009.
He has not played a full match yet this season
because of a foot injury and managed 32 minutes in
Wales' 3-0 defeat by Serbia on Tuesday.
But manager Carlo Ancelotti opted to hand the
Welshman his first start of the campaign, playing
him in a right wing role alongside Ronaldo and Isco.
And, after a quiet start, Bale started to repay the
money spent on him by cancelling out Villarreal's
opener, converting Daniel Carvajal's pull back from
inside the six-yard box.
The former Southampton left-back almost scored a
second after the break, firing inches over from long
range, before he was replaced by Angel Di Maria after
the hour mark.
The draw was Real's and Villarreal's first dropped
points of the season, with Barcelona and Atletico
Madrid the only sides left in the league with a 100%
record.
Real visit Turkish side Galatasaray in the Champions
League on Tuesday.
Bale, who joined Spurs for £10m from Southampton
in 2007, scored 26 goals last season as he was
named both the Professional Footballers'
Association's and Football Writers' player of the year.
The Wales star has signed a £300,000 per week, six-
year deal at the Bernabeu.
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