A few days ago, Carlo Ancelotti said that he expected more from Gareth Bale in the coming seasons. The Welsh international was signed from Tottenham for a world record fee of £ 86 million. After initially struggling for form and fitness, the player is starting to come good for Real Madrid in recent months. Despite this, Ancelotti said that Bale is displaying only half of his potential because it is his first season at the club. He is expecting more from the 24-year-old once he settles completely at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The former Tottenham star showed his quality in the recent 5-0 win over Real Betis. He scored the second goal of the game, as Real Madrid managed to move level on points with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. The top three teams have 50 points each right now, although Real Madrid have played a game more than their rivals. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 10th minute, while Karim Benzema, Angel di Maria, and Alvaro Morata scored the goals for the club in a convincing victory.
Ancelotti said after the match that he was very happy with the performance of Bale, who not only scored, but also created chances for his teammates. Prior to the match, he confirmed that Morata will not be allowed on loan to Arsenal.
“Bale performed well. But so did everyone else in the team. There was big pressure in the beginning. But everything went well, so we have to be happy. When we scored the first goal, the game changed. We had more spaces – it’s normal that Betis attacked trying to get a draw. All the team played well, we had lots of chances to score – it was a great match from our point of view,” said Ancelotti, whose team are slowly coming back to a good run of form.