Bale needs time to settle in

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

All eyes were on the player who broke the world transfer record on Saturday night as Gareth Bale made his bow in El Clasico.

Those hoping to see some early fireworks were to be disappointed though as the Welshman struggled throughout with the pace and intensity of the match. Manager Carlo Ancelotti eventually replaced him with Karim Benzema on the hour mark as he saw Real Madrid slip to a 2-1 defeat in the Nou Camp against Barcelona.

The match was lit up by Neymar, with the Brazilian marking his first El Clasico appearance since his move from Santos in the summer with a goal and a man of the match performance, even putting Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo firmly in the shade.

For Bale, it was a reality check but is it too soon to make a judgement on the £85m arrival?

To play for Real Madrid, you need to be a special player and Bale definitely fits into that category. He had an injury-hit pre-season which meant he made the move to the Bernabeu lacking match practice.

Therefore, it has been no surprise that most of his appearances so far this season have come from the bench. He does need time to settle into his new surroundings. Of course, considering he cost so much, time is a precious commodity but he’ll need until Christmas to really get into his stride as part of the Galactico family.

Ancelotti made a bad tactical error for the Barca game by playing him as a second striker. This is something the experienced Italian coach would have been better trying out in a lower key La Liga match than arguably the biggest club game on the planet.

Afterwards, Ancelotti defended his player, saying: “He played well and needs to look for his team-mates’ runs. He didn’t play badly during that hour.

“I think they are his first matches and he needs to get used to playing with his team-mates, which is normal.

“It doesn’t make much difference for him to play on the right or in the middle. We started like that to put more pressure on Sergio Busquets, but after 20 minutes I changed his position to the wing to give him more room.”

Either way, messing around with the position of the player was not a good idea. At a time where Bale (pictured) needs game time, he needs to be operating in a familiar position. Playing Benzema, a natural striker would have been a more suitable option for this kind of match.

Saturday’s defeat to their bitter rivals was Real’s second loss of the campaign and they are already looking quite distant to Barcelona and city rivals Atletico, who beat them in their own backyard last month.

Form in the Champions League has been exceptional so far but league progress has not really happened for Ancelotti so far. Mr Mourinho might have a slight grin on his face when he sees the position of his former club in the current La Liga standings.

As for Gareth Bale, it was a lacklustre performance against Barcelona but he will need more games. Real fans and the world will want to see his best soon but patience is the key here to getting the best out of the Welsh wizard.