TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM– Jose Mourinho insisted “there is not one single manager in the world who does not play Gareth Bale if he is in good condition” after his two goals and an assist in Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Burnley.
Bale opened the scoring after just 75 seconds, ghosting his way into the box to fool a standstill Nick Pope. Having set Spurs on their way, the Welshman then turned provider for Harry Kane, launching a cross-field ball which sent the striker on a run from within his own half to the Burnley box.
Before shooting, it took the striker just three touches from when he was released to the moment he had scored his 14th goal of the Premier League season.
Lucas Moura added a third shortly after the half-hour mark, a slight deflection guiding Sergio Reguilon’s cross into the Brazilian’s path.
Bale added his second, and Spurs’ fourth, at the same end after latching onto Son Heung-min’s sprint. That might raise questions of whether the 31-year-old will start again in the upcoming games against Fulham and Crystal Palace, but Mourinho stressed he will need to be managed carefully.
“Gareth is a very experienced guy he knows his body better than anyone,” he added. “It would be very nice for me to say I handled the situation well…I’m not that kind of guy. He knows his body very well.
“Day after day, his experience and knowledge of his body and his feelings are going to be fundamental. A player that gives me this kind of performance, of course I want to play him Thursday and Sunday and next week against Dinamo Zagreb, but I don’t think I can.”
Spurs’ on-field sense of urgency in recent weeks has not always matched the feeling in recent weeks that something needed to change quickly. That changed thanks to Bale’s early goal, a touch which defined his afternoon – effortless, confident, at times even nonchalant.
If expectations of him returning to his 2013 levels, the form which earned him a then world record move to Real Madrid, were always unrealistic, then at least he is finally delivering what Spurs signed him for.
Whisper it quietly, but Bale might be back after all.
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