Bale returns in Real, Villarreal stalemate

The only positive that Real Madrid could take away from their scoreless La Liga draw with Villarreal was Gareth Bale, whose good form belied his return to the pitch after more than five months on the sidelines.

The stalemate left Madrid four points clear of second-placed Sevilla as the league leaders continue to struggle without injured striker Karim Benzema, and with their Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain just three days away.

Bale had not played for club or country since a brief appearance for Wales on September 1 in a friendly.

Before that, he made three appearances for Madrid in August before a series of injuries and a COVID-19 infection ensured he fell out of Carlo Ancelotti's rotation in favour of younger players Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio.

With Benzema recovering from a hamstring injury, Ancelotti gave Bale the nod to play as his striker.

Bale needed almost the entire first half to finally get involved, but once he did, he showed the same ability he always had to produce scoring chances.

"(Bale) had his opportunity and he made the most of it. He could have scored, he gave us a threat up front, he did all we asked of him," Ancelotti said.

Only the goalkeeping of Geronimo Rulli stopped Bale on three occasions, including one shot he pushed onto his bar in the 56th minute.

Late substitute Luka Jovic almost grabbed a stoppage-time winner on the break when he sent his chipped shot onto the bar.

Villarreal, who moved into fifth place, were without their top striker as Gerard Moreno nursed a right leg injury but had the better of the first half.

Bale needed until the 42nd to finally make an impact, latching on to Casemiro's long ball behind the backline and drawing a save from Rulli.

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