Gareth Bale showed that he remains a ‘world-class’ footballer during Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 thrashing of Sheffield United on Sunday, Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom told the Star.
The Welshman’s first ever Premier League hat-trick must have felt somewhat bittersweet for Spurs supporters.
Where would Tottenham be right now if Bale had started to perform in October or November rather than February?
With the living legend seemingly destined to return to Real Madrid once his loan deal expires, are the London giants about to bid farewell to one of their favourite sons for the second time in a matter of weeks?
Either way, the phrase ‘enjoy him while you can’ came to mind as Bale ripped Sheffield United apart this weekend, ruthlessly dispatching two Sergio Aurier assists either side of a flowing counter-attacking strike that would not have looked out of place all the way back in 2010.
“We know he is a world class player,” bemoaned a dejected Heckingbottom, whose side gave Bale the freedom of Yorkshire en route to his stunning treble.
“But we can’t afford to give that type of player those opportunities. We have to be at our best to compete at this level.”
Bale certainly hogged the headlines but Spurs, to a man, looked a team transformed in Ryan Mason’s third game at the helm; albeit against one of the poorest sides the Premier League has ever seen.
Tottenham pressed higher, attacked with pace and created chance after chance with Heung Min Son, Dele Alli and Gio Lo Celso all impressing in a swashbuckling starting XI – a fry cry from the pragmatism and the passivity of the Jose Mourinho reign.
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