Thursday 14 May 2015 00:57, UK
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale needs to show more character to emerge from his current slump at the club, says Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.
Bale endured yet another frustrating night for Madrid, who drew 1-1 with Juventus in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final to exit the competition 3-2 on aggregate.
However, despite having a number of presentable chances in the second half at the Santiago Bernabeu, Bale failed to find the goal to take the tie into extra time.
And the former Liverpool defender believes Bale needs to be more like fellow Real frontman Cristiano Ronaldo by developing an “arrogant” streak to his game and demanding more of the ball.
“He was more involved in goalscoring chances and opportunities in the second half, without a doubt,” he said.
“There was a header at the back post where you thought: ‘he's got to score’, but the expectations at this club when you’ve signed for a world-record fee is that you've got to produce a moment of magic in games like this.
“Big players do big things in big moments and tonight, that's what he needed. He didn't miss an absolute sitter, but it didn't quite go for him. He's finding it difficult with his confidence, there's no doubt. Ronaldo was quiet, but he's still sprinting around, trying to make things happen.
“Watching Bale, he's that word (Thierry) used - passive. We’ve all been there when your confidence isn’t there, but the way to change that - he's got pace and power – is to chase the ball down, lift the crowd. He was jogging round and not demanding the ball.
“If he's getting criticism at Real Madrid, it's not about his ability, it might be about his character - having that arrogance to demand the ball and get on it.”
Graeme Souness agreed, saying: "A lot of the time it's the guy without the ball who makes up the mind of the passer - by his movement, by his aggression.
"Bale's a sprinter, he's dynamic but in that first half he was jogging into areas. He can demand the ball by his own movement. In the second half he came into it more and should have scored."
