Real Madrid is a weird team with weird expectations. In Gareth Bale's first season, he was marginally better than Neymar and he scored the clinching goals in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League finals. He was a hero. Last year he was way less good, so Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema started giving him death stares every time he screwed up and he started getting linked to a transfer to Manchester United.
In case you needed a reminder, Bale is still very, very good. He scored twice in Madrid's win over Real Betis on Saturday, including this 40-yard scorcher. It was unstoppable and really couldn't have been hit any better, which is the type of thing you expect to see from a guy who cost a world record €100 million.
Welcome back to the show, Gareth Bale. It's like you never even left. And sorry about this, Manchester United.