Gareth Bale certainly vindicated Ryan Mason’s decision to start him for Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.
Tottenham came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in North London last night during Mason’s first game since replacing axed head coach Jose Mourinho on an interim basis earlier in the week.
Prior to last night, Bale had only started six Premier League games under Mourinho all season.
But Mason stuck him in his first XI and the legendary Wales international proved that the rookie 29-year-old coach – two years younger than Bale – made the right choice.
The Real Madrid loanee cancelled out Danny Ings’s opener on the hour mark with a brilliant curling effort from a tight angle after Lucas Moura’s original effort was blocked.
It was the sort of finish that reminded Tottenham fans just how effortlessly devastating and influential he was during his first spell with the Lilywhites.
And Tim Sherwood, speaking to Optus Sport last night, has described him as ‘top-drawer’.
Sherwood said: “What Tottenham do have is good players and there’s one top-drawer player there in Gareth Bale. What a finish that is.”
The victory took Spurs up to sixth in the Premier League table and two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, who have a game in hand.
But an on-song Bale could be a massive asset for Tottenham during their final six games and it’ll be fascinating to see if his form improves under Mason.
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