The criticism of Bale has been absolutely unreal in some quarters of the footballing world. The Welshman has had an indifferent recent run of games and fans have naturally not been pleased with what they saw.
The world’s most expensive player, had another disappointing night in front of his own fans and missed a number of chances and ensured he didn’t prove to be much of a difference in the tie that put the Champions League holders out of the competition.
The former Tottenham Hotspur player insisted he was disappointed at crashing out of the competition but was happy with his general performances during the campaign which has brought him under the negative limelight more than once recently.
Madrid’s first chance of the night fell to Bale and he headed over after just 35 seconds. He had two decent chances in the second half but didn’t test veteran Gianluigi Buffon enough in the goal.
“I was unlucky not to grab one,” he said. “As long as I keep trying, usually one goes in. Unfortunately it didn’t happen tonight and you move on.
“It’s obviously disappointing and not what we want but as I said there is still a chance to win the league and we will keep fighting until it is mathematically impossible and that is all we can do.
“There have been some ups and downs (this season) but I feel personally I have played well but not scored as many chances, important chances, as I like but my general play has been good. I think my finishing has been a bit rusty this year and that’s something to work on for next year.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I’ll learn from this season a lot and take it into next season and have a good season.”