Will Bale be whistled on his first Bernabéu appearance in 22 months?

Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t want distractions as his Real Madrid side prepare for face Atlético Madrid in this Sunday’s Madrid derby, but there could be one with Gareth Bale. The Welshman is back in the squad and the coach explained in his pre-match press conference that he could feature in the match.

If Bale does come on, this will be just his second appearance at the Bernabéu since 2019. In 2020, he only played there once before the coronavirus lockdown and temporary move to Valdebebas, playing 84 minutes of a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo. Then, he spent 2020/21 on loan at Tottenham - when Real Madrid didn’t play at the Bernabéu anyway. After returning, he featured in the first three fixtures of the 2021/22 season, but these matches against Alavés, Levante and Real Betis were all away.

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Now, one year, nine months and 26 days later, Bale could appear at his home stadium once again and a hostile reception is expected. That was the case in his last few appearances there, with fans frustrated with his lack of effort to chase down loose balls or to pressure opponents.

In the pre-match press conference, when Ancelotti was asked about the 32-year-old, the question was prefaced with the expectation that the player will be whistled when coming on. But, the coach insisted that he will make his line-up decisions for sporting reasons and not for any other motive.

When was Bale’s last goal at the Bernabéu?

You really have to spool back when looking to see when Bale last scored a goal at the Bernabéu. Having played just one game there in 2020 or 2021, which he didn’t score in, it was in 2019 that he last put the ball in the net in front of his home crowd.

That was back on March 16th 2019, in a 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo, in Zinedine Zidane’s first game back. That was two years, eight months and 26 days ago, which is too long for the club’s highest earner to go without scoring in front of the supporters. Bale will hope to put that right soon and this Sunday’s derby would be a good place to start.