Bale draws kudos after impressive Real debut

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed world record signing Gareth Bale's attitude after the Welshman made his debut for the Spanish giant by scoring in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Villarreal.

Bale knotted the score with a simple finish from close range just before halftime to cancel out Cani's opener for the host.

The 24-year-old was withdrawn by Ancelotti along with fellow debutant Asier Illarramendi on the hour mark due to their lack of match fitness.

Cristiano Ronaldo then briefly put Real ahead before Giovani Dos Santos struck 21 minutes from time to ensure the spoils were shared.

Ancelotti was happy with the contribution of his new players against a confident Villarreal side.

"I think they did well. I didn't want to run the risk of playing them for 90 minutes because it is not good for them in their first game for a while," he said.

"I think Bale is happy because he has scored for the first time with Real Madrid, which is very important for him. It was a difficult game for all of us, but he played well and showed a good attitude."

Bale lined up on the right side of the attack, with Ronaldo featuring mainly down the left.

However, the two did exchange positions at times and Ancelotti expects that is something they will be able to do to even greater effect with more playing time together.

"It was the first time that they have played together. Now and again they are going to change positions because the movement that they have, but it wasn't a specific point we had instructed them to do," said the coach.

(China Daily 09/16/2013 page24)