MADRID (AP) — Everything seems to be going well for Real Madrid recently, in the Spanish league and the Champions League.
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Not even the 4-0 loss in the classic against Barcelona could derail the leaders in Spain.
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But heading into Tuesday’s European second leg against Chelsea, defending the 3-1 lead he took in London, some of the attention in Madrid is on the fans’ divorce from Gareth Bale.
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The Welsh striker, who was loaned out to his former club Tottenham last season, was whistled loudly by merengue fans at the Santiago Bernabeú stadium when he came on for the last quarter of an hour of the 2-0 win over Getafe in the domestic tournament on Saturday. .
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Both the players and coach Carlo Ancelotti ended up referring to the situation surrounding Bale.
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“When a player is whistled, everyone is whistled,” said Madrid midfielder Casemiro. “Football is about opinion, but I don’t agree that a player from our team is whistled.”
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“He is a player who has scored many goals, important in the club and when someone like that is whistled, the history of the club is whistled”, added the Brazilian.
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Ancelotti, who included Bale in the squad for the second leg, stressed the importance of fans and players rowing together.
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“At a time like this in the season, where we need everyone, I think the unity between the fans and the players is a very important aspect,” Ancelotti said. “Bale, at this moment, is fine. He is training well, he wants to play, to help the team. This is the most important”.
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Many Madrid fans believe that Bale never performed to his full potential since he arrived at the club in 2013 for what was then a record transfer fee of 100 million euros ($132 million). There are fans and journalists who believe that Bale does not put the same effort into his club that he exhibits when he wears the jersey of his native Wales.
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“It’s difficult, it’s happened to a lot of people but we’re all important,” said veteran Brazilian winger Marcelo. “I think that at the end of the season we have a lot at stake and we have to be united and help our teammates. We have to sweat the shirt, we have to continue”.
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Last month, Bale spoke out against the psychological damage that a professional athlete can suffer from what he described as “defamatory, derogatory and speculative journalism.” The 32-year-old came out at the crossroads of a column in Marca, one of the main Spanish sports newspapers, which bore the title “The Welsh parasite”.
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Bale maintained that the press asks too much of athletes and ruthlessly criticizes them when they do not perform as expected, regardless of their mental health.
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With Bale, Madrid won four European titles. He pierced the nets in the 2014 and 2018 finals. He has only made seven appearances for the club this season and has one goal. With Wales, on the other hand, he has five goals in six games.
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Madrid will return to the Bernabéu after receiving Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals last year at the small Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium, in its training complex due to renovation works. Madrid drew 1-1 in that match before losing 2-0 in London.
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At home, Madrid reacted to defeat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 at the Bernabéu, reversing the 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the round of 16. Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick in the second leg and the French attacker added another three-goal game in the first leg against Chelsea last week.
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Madrid had gone 14 games without losing at home before losing to Barcelona at the end of March.
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“We have not lost our minds after the Barcelona bath,” Ancelotti said. “We have handled the situation well.”
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Madrid maintains a 12-point lead over Barcelona with seven games to play, although the Catalan team has one more pending.
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Ancelotti was able to rest Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, his lungs in midfield, at the weekend. He also confirmed that left-back Ferland Mendy will be in the starting eleven against Chelsea after recovering from a sore muscle. The great absentee will be the Brazilian central defender Eder Militão, suspended for accumulation of cards.
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