Gareth Bale..
It's been a tough season for Real Madrid's Gareth Bale.
The Welsh winger is viewed by most football fans as one of the top 10 players in world football on his day, but he's struggled for minutes this season due to injures constantly hampering any form he builds up.
Against Juventus in midweek, the former Tottenham man didn't even come off the bench, with his reactions to both of Cristiano Ronaldo's goals in Turin seemingly highlighting how unhappy he is at the club right now.
However, Zinedine Zidane handed Bale a lifeline in the Madrid derby vs Atletico, starting from the off at the Bernabeu.
Zidane went for a very experimental 4-4-2 formation, with Bale and Ronaldo lining up as central strikers.
Marco Asensio and Lucas Vasquez were out wide, with Toni Kroos and Mateo Kovacic in the heart of midfield.
And for the first 45 minutes, it simply didn't work. Real struggled to impose themselves and Bale was limited to very few touches.
However, after the break, Los Blancos took the lead courtesy of a beautiful Ronaldo volley, with Bale delivering a pinpoint cross.
A real beauty and as soon as the ball hit the back of the net, football fans were quick to point out Bale's effectiveness back out in his natural position on the left.
FANS REACT
I hope you're listening Zizou!
The game saw another historical feat for Ronaldo, with his wonderful strike taking him to 650 goals for club and country.
He has also found the back of the net in his last 10 games for Los Blancos, scoring 20 in that time.
If Zidane can somehow fit Bale back into his side on the left, Real would likely further improve as a side.
After all, how can Karim Benzema keep getting games when Bale is left to rot on the bench?
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