Bale revival continues as double boosts Tottenham
Gareth Bale scored twice for Tottenham as they swept past Crystal Palace 4-1 to boost their hopes of a top-four finish. Bale (right) now has six goals in six games having struggled since his return to the club. Harry Kane also scored twice, one a stunning strike from outside the box.
“Bale is back” was the slogan Tottenham Hotspur excitedly pumped out on their social-media channels when he returned on loan from Real Madrid, and it looks like the fivemonth wait for him to roll back the years could well be worth it.
This may not be the galloping Gareth Bale who ended the careers of terrified right-backs, but this is once again the Gareth Bale who has stepped up just when Tottenham really needed him.
Their season was in danger of imploding when Bale was brought back into the starting line-up for the visit of Burnley. But three games and four goals from the 31-year-old later, and Spurs are back in the race for a top-four place.
Bale’s two goals against Crystal Palace meant he has scored six in six games and he lasted 69 minutes before being replaced by Erik Lamela, with head coach Jose Mourinho now counting on the man he seemed so reluctant to pick.
“I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t think I could contribute,” said Bale. “It’s taken time, but that’s the reality of football and my body. A lot of games are coming thick and fast, so it’s about recovering and getting ready for the next one.”
And while opposition defences only used to have Bale to worry about during his first spell at the club, they now have to try to stop an in-form Harry Kane as well.
Kane set up two of Bale’s goals, cracked in a stunning strike of his own and headed Tottenham’s fourth, which meant Spurs reached 100 goals for the season in all competitions.
“It’s not bad for a very defensive team, for a very negative team,” said Mourinho, who has not forgotten the criticism he and his team were facing just a fortnight ago.
Bale was at the heart of all Tottenham’s most dangerous moments and he opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Despite not threatening much, Palace had done little wrong at the back until Luka Milivojevic was robbed of the ball by Lucas Moura, back in ahead of Dele Alli. He stabbed the ball to Kane and the striker delivered the perfect low cross from the left for Bale to score.
Before opening the scoring, Bale had created a superb opportunity for Son Heung-min in just the sixth minute, with a delicious cross that the South Korean wastefully headed straight at keeper Vicente Guaita.
Jordan Ayew was booked for pulling back Bale, who turned creator once again in the 38th minute with another cross from the right that Sergio Reguilon volleyed wide.
In first-half stoppage time, Spurs conceded a sloppy equaliser. Palace had not managed a single shot on target before Christian Benteke scored his team’s first Premier League goal away at Tottenham since December 2004.
Wilfried Zaha had returned to the substitutes’ bench, following five games out with a hamstring problem, and he replaced Eberechi Eze for the second half.
But it was Bale who reasserted his authority on the game just four minutes after the restart, as he started and finished the move from which Spurs regained the lead.
Bale did brilliantly to ride a challenge, hold on to the ball and find Reguilon out on the left with a superb cross-field pass.
The left-back’s cross was headed back across goal by Kane and Bale raced into the six-yard box and beat Guaita with a close-range header.
Moments later, Palace had conceded again and suddenly had a mountain to climb.
Bale was involved again, passing the ball to Matt Doherty, but this time Tottenham’s third goal owed to the brilliance of Kane, who curled a wonderful 25-yard shot past a helpless Guaita.
Zaha hit the post from 20 yards, but it was Kane who added to the scoreline with a close-range header following excellent work from Lamela and Son.
Palace manager Roy Hodgson said: “As Harry Kane said to me after the game, they took their chances very well. We were heavily punished by the quality of their goals. We’ve got to lick those wounds and learn any lessons. We’ve got a week to work on it.”