Gareth Bale rolled back the years with a vintage display to help Wales beat Austria 2-1 on Thursday and take a giant leap towards World Cup qualification, the Real Madrid forward scored twice at the Cardiff City Stadium to leave his country on the brink of qualifying for Qatar. They will face either Scotland or Ukraine in their final play-off.
Bale has largely been a peripheral figure at the Bernabeu this season but continues to produce for his national side, his first goal was a trademark free kick, the kind he produced in a Tottenham shirt regularly before his switch to Los Blancos in 2013. His second was another accurate finish following a clever set piece routine.
The Welshman returned to north London last season on loan from Real, and despite not being a regular starter under then boss Jose Mourinho, still registered an impressive 16 goals and three assists in 34 appearances. Bale is out of contract at the end of the season and is widely expected to leave the Spanish capital.
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Spurs fans took great delight in seeing the 32-year-old's dramatic return to form on the international stage, and many would love to see Bale finish his career with the club. Here's how a selection of supporters reacted on social media:
@Glen_Naylor: “Gareth Bale is still a super footballer. Both goals tonight have been superb, When he got proper game time and was injury free, he showed what he could do for Spurs last season. I would still take him if he came available again.”
@Jakob_SIO: “Gareth Bale is still world class and has a good few years left at that level. I hope he doesn't retire. Finishing his career at spurs would be the dream for me.”
@robertsp1965: “Get Gareth Bale back at Spurs. What. A. Player.”
@ParkyParkyTweeT: “Gareth Bale doing Gareth Bale things. Madrid are mad not to be playing him. What a player, astonishing. PS please come back to Spurs.”
@jhalcrojohnston: “A reminder that Gareth Bale was on loan at Spurs last season and we hardly played him. Would have him back tomorrow.”
@mkavanagh791: ”Quite good this Gareth Bale lad. Maybe worth Spurs giving him a trial period?”
@grayjam68: “That Gareth Bale looks decent. I think Spurs should be taking a look at him.”
@thfclp__: “The greatest British sportsman. Sir Gareth Bale. And yes, I’d have him back at Spurs any day of the week.”
