Spurs thrashed Inter Milan 3-1 last night.
And Gareth Bale was out of this world.
Footiespeak is boring and banal, as we all know, mainly because people use words like “unbelievable” far too often
What Bale has done to Inter is, I think, unbelievable.
Today’s comparisons with Roberto Carlos are just silly.
Bale is six foot tall and very precise as well as superfast.
Roberto Carlos was short and chunky, a bionic warrior, a powerhouse gladiator, a standard-bearer for the regiment. He was spectacular, thunderous, elemental, a force of nature. But the Brazilian wasn’t much of a goalscorer and most of the time he could not cross a ball for toffee.
In these two epic games, a 4-3 defeat in Milan, and a 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane, Bale has combined power and precision in a way we have hardly ever seen before. He was absolutely awesome. He was magnificent.
Before the game, Harry Redknapp said, “We’re going to attack them on the flanks, we’ll play open, so it could be a wild ride.”
After the game, as Inter’s ambassador Luis Figo was walking off the pitch with Redknapp, Figo said, “He’s just amazing, amazing. He killed us twice.”
Gareth Bale was Spurs top scorer with six goals, so I backed him EW to score. I thought it would be a noisy night of high-tempo football with action at both ends. There was a possibility that Spurs might be turned over.
We all wondered for years what Spurs might do in the Champions League – if they ever qualified. Suddenly they make it and find themselves in a Group with Inter, Werder Bremen, and Twente Enschede, a Dutch outfit who are also Champions League virgins.
Spurs 3 Inter 1 was the most compelling game I’ve seen this season.
Really enjoyed it, very rarely flicked over to Turkey to check what Man United were doing. Early in an exciting first half, Rafael van der Vaart blasted in a sweet, tidy shot after being played in by Modric, so it was 1-0 after 18 minutes. The Dutchman thought he was offside but wasn’t. I thought: “Why didn’t I back him again? Because I backed Bale at 11-1!”
We hardly saw Wesley Sneijder, apart from one good free kick which Cudicini tipped over.
Bad miss by Peter Crouch in 25. Bale found him with a fine cross but Crouch volleyed into the ground and past the post. I thought, “That could be costly! I’ve seen him miss those before but seen him bury them as well.”
In the middle of the half, Inter came out more and jet-heeled Frenchman Jonathan Biabiany was menacing. But he used his pace to make diagonal dribbles across the field. That wasn’t what was needed. Cambiasso would have made the ball do the work.
Half-time : 1-0.
Second half, bad news for Spurs when Rafael van der Vaart could not come out due to a hamstring. He had played with strapping on his right thigh.
In 61, Bale left Maicon for dead yet again and crossed beautifully into Crouch’s stride for 2-0.
Samuel Eto’o replied ten minutes later with a very good shot from just outside the box. Eto’o is still a great, great footballer and this was his 16th goal of the season for Inter, an astonishing return at this stage.
A thrilling night of “Ooh!Ah!” football at the Lane was capped by yet another Bale raid and another perfect delivery for sub Pavlechenko to make it 3-1.
I’d backed over 2.5 goals, so I was having a fun night.
Spurs are top of Group A on seven points. Inter also have seven points.
Two weeks ago a reader wrote to ask why I had not mentioned that sensational hat-trick by Gareth Bale in the San Siro, scored after Inter led 4-0 at half time. Well, I’ve been a big Bale fan for years. Before I noticed his pace, and before I noticed his shooting, I noticed his crossing, which was uncannily accurate and, somehow, naturally accurate. I thought his crossing was better than Beckham’s. And, therefore, a lethal weapon
Each of Gareth Bale’s three goals against Inter was a superb strike. But I thought Spurs were very nervous at the start because they were playing the European Champions. They’re not used to such a mega game away from home, so they were very jittery. And the ball-watching by fullbacks Alan Hutton and Assou-Ekotto on the first two goals was shocking beyond belief. They were destroyed by a couple of diagonal balls and went 3-0 down in 15 minutes.
Last night Sky pundit Ruud Gullit said, “Playing like this is good for football, good for the Champions League. Italian teams are not used to playing at this tempo.”
Richard Keys spoke to right back Michel Salgado.
“You’ve played against him, haven’t you?”
Salgado said, “Yes, he’s not only quick, he’s powerful.”
Harry Redknapp said, “He’s a lovely boy to work with, very low-maintenance.”
Man United are solid in Europe these days, although I still wonder if they will be erratic on their travels.
Liked Sir Alex’s team, with Obertan and Nani, and knew they couldn’t lose to Bursaspor, so I played safe and did DRAW NO BET. After Fletcher scored the first goal, Obertan blasted in for 2-0 and then sub Bebe jabbed in for 3-0, job done.
Rangers got battered by Valencia and lost 3-0. I thought it might be a bit closer than that.
Twente won 2-0 in Bremen with late goals, after skipper Torsten Frings was sent off.
Spurs v Werder Bremen is on Matchday 5.
Can the Germans sign Usain Bolt to mark Gareth Bale?
Only two teams have not conceded a goal in the Champions League so far : Real Madrid and Man United. If I’m looking for a team good enough be European Champions, I look for one that doesn’t concede goals.