Gareth Bale's commitment is evident! Real Madrid boss praises star man and plays down Isco exclusion

Up and running | Gareth Bale celebrates scoring Real Madrid’s opening goal against AS Roma
REUTERS
Ben Hayward28 November 2018

Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari praised Gareth Bale for his commitment after his side’s 2-0 win away to AS Roma on Tuesday and also sought to play down Isco’s exclusion from the matchday squad for the Champions League clash.

In a survey ahead of the match, Bale was voted as the player Marca readers least wanted to start at the Stadio Olimpico and the Welshman has had to endure a series of vicious media reports questioning his attitude and his effort in recent times.

The 29-year-old started against Roma, worked hard in defence and also opened the scoring at the beginning of the second half to set the European champions on their way to a valuable win.

“It was important to pick ourselves up quickly,” Solari said afterwards, in reference to Saturday’s 3-0 loss at Eibar. "The players, every single one of them, showed a great sense of responsibility. We are happy.”

And later on, he added: “I want to repeat what I said about the sense of responsibility because it’s important. Bale’s commitment is evident, not just because of how he played today, especially in the second half, but also for the work he did in Eibar. The commitment was there, too.”

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The Argentine went on to praise a number of other players after the 2-0 win, which sees Real Madrid win Group G and seal their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

“Lucas [Vazquez] is a worker on the wing,” he said. “He’s tireless; he attacks and he defends. It's also a reflection of how he trains.

"And Karim [Benzema] is an incredibly generous player, not just in his effort, but also in how he helps his team-mates with his play.”

The 42-year-old also reserved special words for midfielder Marcos Llorente, who made a rare appearance in place of the injured Casemiro.

“I’m really happy for Marcos,” he said. “He always trains at 100 per cent, he’s a professional, an example and that’s why you saw him, because he trains phenomenally every day.

“It makes me happy that he has shown that Casemiro has a specific replacement who can come in and play to the level required by this shirt.”

Those comments may have provided some insight into why Isco (below) was not involved, having not started a single game under Solari so far, but the Argentine played down his absence.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images/Michal Cizek
AFP/Getty Images/Michal Cizek

“They are specific decisions for specific moments,” he said. And asked again later, he added: “Whether a player starts or not, for me, is a fictitious problem. That’s how I see the exercise of our profession. I saw it like that when I played, too.

“I don’t give any importance to it. There are 24 players and the job of a coach is to choose which ones start the game, which ones get changed (to play) and which ones are left out.”

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