Gareth Bale Gets Bernabeu Backlash After Ronaldo Bust Up

For better or worse, Gareth Bale took centre stage in the Espanyol match. He clipped home an exquisite free-kick worthy of any highlights reel, but riled Cristiano Ronaldo by opting to go it alone when he could have set his teammate up for a sitter. It was like the Mestalla all over again and CR7 was left apoplectic.


The Bernabéu faithful didn't sit idly by, instead making their opinion known and siding with Ronaldo by roundly jeering the Welshman. The Portuguese ace, for his part, once again gesticulated wildly, first shooting a fiery look at Bale and then turning pleadingly to the dugout.

It was a shame, because the stage was perfectly set for the incident at the Mestalla to be forgotten. The BBC were in good shape on their reunion for the Espanyol game and Real's opening goal, scored by James Rodríguez, came about after Bale's raking pass was delightfully cut back by Cristiano. The attacking pair had seemingly put their problems behind them and exchanged gestures of mutual appreciation while celebrating the strike they created.

But that's when history repeated itself. In the second half, in which Cristiano looked extremely fired up, Bale embarked on another rampaging run on the break and found himself bearing down on Kiko Casillla's goal. With Ronaldo ideally placed for a tap-in, the Welshman elected to go for glory... and screwed his shot wide, reopening the old wounds from the loss in Valencia.