Bale has found his form at the right time

Bengaluru, May 25: Ahead of the high-voltage UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has a crucial decision to make as Gareth Bale is awaiting his chance.

“He is playing very well he has scored some goals recently. Not only that, he has been very consistent. He has not played so much but the last three games he has played he has played well," Zidane spoke of Bale ahead of the final to be played on Saturday (May 26) in Kiev, Ukraine.

The Welshman who started rarely in Europe this season has infact brought himself into the contention for starting in Madrid’s biggest game of the season by his recent performances.

Bale has featured in all the three Champions League finals which the Los Blancos have won in the last four years. He scored in extra time against Atletico in Lisbon 2014 to give Real a 2-1 lead, assisted Ramos in 2016 but played only 13 minutes of last season’s final in hometown Cardiff under his current manager. It is probably from here that the relationship between him and Zidane deteriorated.

Reportedly, both of them were not seeing eye to eye as the Welshman was dumped in the last 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain.

It hit a new low came in the quarterfinal home leg. With Real trailing 0-2 at half time, Zidane hauled him off which seemed like a public humiliation. Bale was reportedly off and down in training post that game.

He did not feature against Atletico Bilbao in La Liga and also warmed the bench in the semifinal ties against Bayern Munich. It was presumed that Zidane wanted to play less spectacular, but more defensively diligent players like Lucas Vasquez or Isco. In fact the famed 'BBC' have shared only 416 minutes together on the pitch across nine La Liga matches and 4 Champions league ties in the last 4 months of this season. Bale has been the most precarious one of the trio playing a mere 99 minutes of Champions League football this season.

Though, recent weeks have seen a change in both Bale’s form and in his rapport with the manager. The spark was provided by that brilliant strike in the 2-2 draw against Barcelona which was followed by a brace and man-of-the-match performance in the 6-0 demolition of Celta Vigo. Bale also scored against Villareal to make it 5 goals in last 4 games.

In a recent interview given to Real Madrid TV, Bale said “I’ve been in good form for quite a while and am all geared for the Champions League final”, a clear sign he wanted to play and to win. Thus, Saturday will provide an acid test; a start will be a sign of regained trust and confidence and the possibility of a fresh beginning next season while another evening on the bench for Bale will probably make reconciliation unlikely.