Carlo Ancelotti has leapt to the defence of Gareth Bale as Real Madrid prepare for tonight’s crucial home meeting with Sevilla.
The Welshman has been jeered by sections of the Bernabeu crowd for the last two home games, with his failure to find the back of the net in Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad prompting a decidedly mixed reaction.
Bale was moved from the right wing to play in Cristiano Ronaldo’s usual forward position due to the absence of the Portuguese star, who is serving a two-game ban.
But although he provided a neat assist for Karim Benzema on the whole Bale failed to shine, missing a series of chances and once again being accused of selfishness for taking the ball off the boot of James Rodriguez, who was in a better position, and then shooting wide.
Ancelotti insisted he is happy with the level of performance being delivered by Bale, who is the team’s third-highest scorer in La Liga with 10 goals.
“He’s having a fantastic season,” said the Italian. “We’re happy because he’s doing very well for the team. He is in top shape and I hope he carries on like this.”
Ancelotti admitted Bale’s current repositioning to the middle isn’t his most effective role, but he was very clear that the 25-year-old is firmly established as one of his first names on the teamsheet.
“He prefers playing on the right because he has more chances to shoot, but he can play in every position up front,” he added. “If he, Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema are fit, they will always play. There’s no doubt about that.”
Tonight’s game was originally scheduled for December but postponed to allow Los Blancos to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, a tournament which Ancelotti’s men won in style.
As Madrid’s game in hand on fellow title contenders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, it provides an opportunity to widen the gap at the top to four points ahead of this weekend’s derby trip to reigning champions Atletico.
But it will not be a straightforward task against a Sevilla side which had the best first half of the season in the club’s history, and reclaimed fourth place with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Espanyol at the weekend.
With 12 goals to his name, Carlos Bacca is La Liga’s leading scorer outside the big two of Madrid and Barcelona, and the Colombian striker is supported by a wealth of attacking options including Sunday’s matchwinner Iago Aspas, French international Kevin Gameiro and on-loan Barca duo Gerard Deulofeu and Denis Suarez.
Ancelotti said: “Sevilla are a dangerous team because they have quality players and they really compete. They are very well organised, with a really good counter-attack through players like Bacca or Aspas, but they can also take care of the ball. They attack in numbers and look to press up front.”