Gareth Bale was hooked at half-time of Real Madrid’s dramatic Champions League quarter-final win over Juventus with his side 2-0 down.
Defending a three-goal lead from the first leg in Italy last week, Zinedine Zidane’s side fell apart in the opening period at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
Blaise Matuidi brought the sides level on aggregate with an hour gone before a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty in added time settled the match.
Gareth Bale was hooked at half-time of Real Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final win
Bale had been handed a rare start having been overlooked for the first leg, and both last-16 ties against Paris Saint-Germain.
But after an underwhelming display this time, Steve McManaman fears he has little chance of returning to the starting lineup in the semi-finals.
‘The bigger game was last week but he’s played tonight, Benzema still hasn’t come on’, he said on BT Sport commentary.
He said at half-time: ‘Hopefully Real Madrid if they get to the semis then Gareth will look to start there. But the way the game has ended for him suggests he’s as far away from a starting place in the semi-final as he has been.’
The Welshman has looked increasingly out of favour as the season has progressed and could be heading for the exit door this summer.
Steve McManaman believes he is as far away as ever from starting in the semi-final
It was Bale’s first start in the competition since September and Real were 2-0 down at half-time
Advertisement
