Gareth Bale rolled back the years by producing a European Championship masterclass when Wales met Turkey yesterday. The Welsh wizard came up with two assists to sink Turkey 2-0 in their Group A encounter – the first of which was an incredible assist for Aaron Ramsey to open the scoring for Wales.
Bale was at his creative best from the very first whistle as he carved out two early chances for Ramsey, both of which the Juventus star was unable to convert from.
But Wales finally made the breakthrough right before halftime, when Bale showed incredible individual quality from the right flank by producing an inch-perfect long ball which took 8 Turkey players out of the game.
The long ball was almost telepathic and it fell into the path of an onrushing Ramsey who had made an unmarked run to the back post. The Juventus man made sure he was onside as he chested the ball down with expertise, and slotted the ball home calmly past the Turkish goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir.
It was third time lucky for the former Arsenal player, as he sent Wales into the lead – but the unsung hero behind the goal was Wales’ talismanic captain who came up with a brilliant pass that cut open the Turkish defence to make it 1-0.
It was an early assist of the tournament contender in its own right, but Bale was not done with Turkey just yet. Despite missing from 12 yards when Wales were given a spot-kick in the second half, Bale made up for it in second-half stoppage time when he set up Connor Roberts to seal the three points for his country.
It was almost the perfect performance for the forgotten Real Madrid star, as he put the 2016 semi-finalists in a very good position to qualify for the Round of 16.
Check out Bale’s hairsplitting assist for Ramsey below –
What an assist Bale.👏 pic.twitter.com/Lp6KBSwGAr
— Wilson (@Mutokaa_) June 16, 2021
