Bale dazzles on the biggest stage – again
When Gareth Bale moved to Real Madrid in a world-record £85.3m deal from Tottenham Hotspur last summer, the Wales international spoke about winning the top trophies with Europe’s most decorated side. A mere nine months later and the 24-year-old has played a crucial role in securing the Copa del Rey and Champions League crowns in his first season at the Bernabeu. Whilst Bale may not have shone to the same extent that he did at Spurs, the Welshman has contributed with 22 goals and 17 assists throughout the campaign. His late winner against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final will live long in the memory and he was a central figure on Saturday night. Bale missed a hat-trick of chances during normal time to break the deadlock for Madrid as he failed to test Thibaut Courtois. But it was testament to his boundless energy that he found himself in the right position at the end of a Madrid counter-attack deep into the second half of extra-time to guide a header into the Atletico net despite moving away from goal. Bale can reflect on a successful first season in Spain as he emulated fellow Brit Steve McManaman by scoring in a Champions League final for Madrid. Surely there is much more to come…
Should Ancelotti have reverted to Lopez?
There is a growing trend in football to allow second-choice goalkeepers to take up residence between the goalposts for cup competitions. Arsene Wenger played Lukasz Fabianski throughout their triumphant FA Cup campaign and the Pole was allowed to keep his spot for the final despite Wojciech Szczesny’s best season at Arsenal to date (in David Seaman’s opinion). Yes, Fabianski earnt his spot after his penalty shootout heroics against Wigan Athletic and other countless saves during the campaign. But surely with Arsenal bidding to end a nine-year trophy drought, Wenger should have cast his loyalty aside and played his strongest squad? The same could be argued about Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to field Iker Casillas ahead of Diego Lopez. The Spain captain lost his place in the starting line-up for La Liga games this season but did get game time in the Champions League. Casillas is a world-class keeper, of course, but the 31-year-old is lacking first-team action over the course of the season and with a tenth European crown at stake, perhaps Lopez represented a safer pair of hands. Casillas has always struggled collecting crosses throughout his career, bordering on reckless at times, and he was undone by a looping ball into the Madrid area which Diego Godin guided over the shot stopper and into the net. The Madrid shot stopper looked edgy all night as Sergio Ramos, Bale, Marcelo and the subdued Cristiano Ronaldo spared his blushes.
Costa gamble fails to pay off
Diego Costa’s fitness battle provided the biggest talking point of the week ahead of the final in Lisbon. The Spain international aggravated a hamstring injury as Atletico were crowned La Liga champions at Barcelona last weekend. The 25-year-old, who had scored eight goals in eight Champions League outings prior to Saturday, reportedly underwent horse placenta treatment in a desperate bid to ready for the European showpiece and it appeared Costa had won his battle after being named in Atletico’s starting line-up. However, the Chelsea target was withdrawn after seven short minutes as his troublesome hamstring had the final say. It means Costa could have played his last game for los Rojiblancos if reports of a £32m move to Chelsea are to be believed. Would the outcome have been any different if Costa had lasted at least 90 minutes of the final? Judging by his recent performances against Barcelona and Madrid, the answer is probably yes.