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| Gareth Bale celebrating goal |
Real Madrid are digging deep in this title race. With both Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema sidelined, it was up to Gareth Bale to keep Zinedine's Zidane's patched-up side in the fight for La Liga. And for the second weekend in a row, the Welshman duly delivered.
Last time around, the former Tottenham man scored twice to inspire a memorable comeback from 2-0 down away to Rayo Vallecano as Ronaldo missed out and on this occasion, he
headed home with 10 minutes left to net the only goal of the game at Anoeta to secure a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad.
Both Ronaldo and Benzema are stepping up their respective recoveries in the hope of featuring against Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night, so the notion of resting Bale was shelved.
This one was deserved. While Madrid missed the target and tested Rulli on a number of occasions, Real Sociedad offered very little in attack. Even though the visitors were playing without several of their best players, they were good for the three points and Bale's leadership made the difference in the end.
"I'm happy for him," Zidane said afterwards. "He had a lot of problems with injuries. When I see him play 90 minutes, I am happy. He could have scored in the first half. But we have to suffer and fight and that is what the boys did. It was a really difficult rival and I am happy to get the win."
Asked again about Bale's injury issues that have seen the Welshman miss almost half of Madrid's matches this term, Zidane said: "He has had problems, but he can be like Cristiano and play lots of games. When you see an important player score a goal, that's good ahead of Wednesday's match."
Bale has played just 28 times for Madrid in the current campaign, but the 26-year-old has now netted 19 goals in those appearances and nine have been scored with his head.
So even though Zidane will be sweating on the fitness of both Benzema and Ronaldo ahead of the second leg against City, the Welshman's form is a big boost in the build-up to that crunch clash and for the second weekend in a row, he has almost single-handedly kept Los Blancos in the fight for the title.
In a campaign blighted by injuries, Bale is now coming good when it matters most - and that is great news for Real Madrid as they compete for two trophies at the end of this season.
Last time around, the former Tottenham man scored twice to inspire a memorable comeback from 2-0 down away to Rayo Vallecano as Ronaldo missed out and on this occasion, he
headed home with 10 minutes left to net the only goal of the game at Anoeta to secure a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad.
Both Ronaldo and Benzema are stepping up their respective recoveries in the hope of featuring against Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night, so the notion of resting Bale was shelved.
The absence of the other two meant Bale was the sole representative of the 'BBC' trident in San Sebastian, lining up instead alongside Lucas Vazquez and Borja Mayoral. But the Welshman adopted the Ronaldo role in this match: he was the protagonist throughout for Madrid - although his finishing was poor until his late clincher.
Many chances came and went. Bale curled one shot well wide after he was put through by James Rodriguez in the first half, twice headed off target and hit straight at Geronimo Rulli's foot in the second period with the goal at his mercy.
Nevertheless, his persistence paid off and he was rewarded as he headed home a cross from Lucas to give Madrid a 10th straight victory in La Liga - something Los Blancos had not achieved since late 2014 under Carlo Ancelotti when the team finished the year with 22 straight successes in all competitions.
Many chances came and went. Bale curled one shot well wide after he was put through by James Rodriguez in the first half, twice headed off target and hit straight at Geronimo Rulli's foot in the second period with the goal at his mercy.
Nevertheless, his persistence paid off and he was rewarded as he headed home a cross from Lucas to give Madrid a 10th straight victory in La Liga - something Los Blancos had not achieved since late 2014 under Carlo Ancelotti when the team finished the year with 22 straight successes in all competitions.
This one was deserved. While Madrid missed the target and tested Rulli on a number of occasions, Real Sociedad offered very little in attack. Even though the visitors were playing without several of their best players, they were good for the three points and Bale's leadership made the difference in the end.
"I'm happy for him," Zidane said afterwards. "He had a lot of problems with injuries. When I see him play 90 minutes, I am happy. He could have scored in the first half. But we have to suffer and fight and that is what the boys did. It was a really difficult rival and I am happy to get the win."
Asked again about Bale's injury issues that have seen the Welshman miss almost half of Madrid's matches this term, Zidane said: "He has had problems, but he can be like Cristiano and play lots of games. When you see an important player score a goal, that's good ahead of Wednesday's match."
Bale has played just 28 times for Madrid in the current campaign, but the 26-year-old has now netted 19 goals in those appearances and nine have been scored with his head.
So even though Zidane will be sweating on the fitness of both Benzema and Ronaldo ahead of the second leg against City, the Welshman's form is a big boost in the build-up to that crunch clash and for the second weekend in a row, he has almost single-handedly kept Los Blancos in the fight for the title.
In a campaign blighted by injuries, Bale is now coming good when it matters most - and that is great news for Real Madrid as they compete for two trophies at the end of this season.
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