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José Mourinho began the week by stating that Gareth Bale is “reaching” something that is closer to his old self. Now it has arrived, but not in the way we imagine. The 31-year-old’s first goal of his second outing at Tottenham gave them a 2-1 victory over Brighton, settling a game that would otherwise have been defined by a series of VAR controversies that left both teams understandably aggrieved. .
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Mourinho has been careful to highlight that Bale is a different type of player that Spurs fans fell in love with prior to his then-world record of £ 85.3 million at Real Madrid in 2013, and perhaps nothing sums him up better than the view. of him placing a header in the 73rd minute on Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sánchez. According to transfermarkt.co.uk, only six of Bale’s 56 goals for Spurs were headed, and the enduring memory of the Welsh international from that period is a winger who fascinates defenders with the ball at his feet rather than a powerful air presence.
There was a warning signal of Bale’s threat in the air seconds after entering as a substitute in the 70th minute, the Welshman pulled into a corner towards the back post where Harry Kane, momentarily caught flat-footed, failed to pass the ball. above the line. from just one meter away.
Bale didn’t have to wait long to get better, and it was a goal imported directly from Madrid. Sergio Reguilón, who joined Spurs from Real in a £ 25 million deal announced on the same day in September as Bale’s return from the Spanish capital, picked up the ball in a dangerous position to the left but chose to cut towards inside with the right foot. That change surprised Brighton, giving Bale a chance to go into space where he found a precise cross with Reguilon’s right foot with an emphatic header in the corner.
Mourinho had glowing words to say about Bale’s impact on Sunday and even threw a spike at Bale’s former club Real Madrid. “But today, great personality, great impact, a very important goal for us. I’m especially happy for him because he deserves it. When I have five minutes, I’ll go to Safari to look at the Madrid websites to see what they say.”
Mourinho had pointed out Bale’s progress behind the scenes in the run-up to Thursday’s sad 1-0 Europa League defeat at Royal Antwerp. He was unable to pull Spurs out of their collective malaise in Belgium, which lasted only 58 minutes before falling to the bench here in one of nine changes to the starting lineup that also saw Dele Alli, Steven Bergwijn, Carlos Vinicius, Davinson Sánchez and Serge. Aurier left the team of the day completely.
On Sunday, however, the Welshman provided substance to back up Mourinho’s words. Playing on the right with Kane down the middle and Son Heung-min on the opposite flank also provided an exciting glimpse of the triumvirate that apparently offers a lot, with Bale’s ability to drift into core areas and cause trouble like this as a useful asset.
“For a week or so, I say he’s improving,” Mourinho said. “And I told him that it’s not just looking at him, but we have data that supports the training process. We knew it. And the good thing is, Gareth knows it too. We share ideas and we share feelings.
“He doesn’t have 90 minutes of a Premier League match on his legs yet, so we are using the Europa League to supplement his training process. We are using some Premier League matches when we decide to play with him, and of course, the normal tendency for him will be to get better and better. “
This was not the general reaction that Mourinho had demanded given that Brighton was the best team for long stretches of this encounter, but Bale’s dramatic intervention brings Spurs to second place in the formation table and winning moments from matches like this will only generate a heightened belief that a top-four spot should be the bare minimum of the club’s aspirations this season.
However, they are sure to have to improve overall, as they benefited from a bewildering series of VAR calls to establish a first-half lead. Kane glanced at Adam Lallana at least twice as the ball drifted away from the Brighton penalty area before backtracking towards his former England teammate, creating contact referee Graham Scott deemed worthy of a Spurs free kick. VAR official Jon Moss then checked to see if Kane was actually in the box and told Scott to review his decision on a penalty, which Kane typically scored impressively for his 11th goal of the season in all competitions and the 199th with the club.
Brighton spent the remainder of the first 45 minutes combining persistent complaints to the referees with a gradual assertion of control of the game. If Kane was fouled, so was Leandro Trossard when Matt Doherty pushed him into the box while trying to find a cross from the right in the 23rd minute. This time, much to Brighton’s frustration, the VAR did not reverse the decision on the field. and did not award a penalty.
However, the visitors were the recipients of the most disconcerting call of the night when Solly March appeared to foul Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to regain possession in the run-up to Tariq Lamptey’s excellent draw, but after reviewing the incident on the court, Scott stood his ground. his original vision to concede the goal.
“There are decisions that I think should explain and not leave us in front of you [the media] and we explaining things that many, many times we cannot find an explanation, “said Mourinho.” I prefer not to talk about that. I see Scott as a good referee. He had the opportunity to go to the screen and see the same thing that we saw in the bank on our iPad. I should explain, but I know that is not going to happen. Let’s go ahead and talk about a very difficult game that we won. “
However, the Spurs were still a bit lucky to finish on the winning side as they struggled for a lot of fluidity in attack, with Brighton working effectively to avoid deft movements in midfield that have epitomized Tottenham’s best displays. in the first weeks of the campaign.
However, tonight the Spurs are second in the table and Bale is the main act. Just as Mourinho said it would be.
