Real Madrid face anxious wait on Bale injury
Ronaldo plays a big hand in Juve’s 3-0 win over Sevilla
Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui has confirmed Gareth Bale sustained an injury to his thigh during the goalless draw with Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
Bale was substituted at halftime at the Santiago Bernabeu and is now a doubt for Real’s Champions League game against CSKA Moscow tomorrow.
“Gareth had discomfort in his thigh,” Lopetegui said after the match. “He came off as a precaution and we will see tomorrow what the injury is.”
Bale has scored four goals in his last seven games for Real and any absence would be a major blow. Real face Barcelona in La Liga on October 28 after league games against Alaves and Levante, as well as another Champions League group fixture at home to Viktoria Plzen.
Real’s Thibaut Courtois made two exceptional saves in the first half to thwart Atletico strikers Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa, while his opposite number, Jan Oblak, rescued the visitors with two cold-blooded stops after the interval to deny Marco Asensio and Dani Carvajal.
Bale came close to scoring for ■ Real in the first half but was substituted at the start of the second with a suspected groin injury although his side improved without their record signing, almost snatching a winner in stoppage time when captain Sergio Ramos headed narrowly wide.
Real have now failed to beat Atletico at home in the league in their last six attempts, with their last victory coming in December 2012 when Jose Mourinho was in charge.
Real are joint-top of the standings, locked on 14 points with Barcelona, who have a slightly superior goal difference, despite their surprise 1-1 draw at home to Athletic Bilbao. Atletico, 12 points, drop down to fourth, while Sevilla climb into third, with 13 points, after winning 3-1 at Eibar.
Poor start
Atletico had beaten Real to win the Uefa Super Cup in August and their confidence had been lifted after a poor start to the campaign by back-to-back wins over Getafe and Huesca.
Real, meanwhile, went into the game hurting from a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Sevilla on Wednesday and were missing key players Isco and Marcelo through injury.
Saturday’s matches: La Liga
Athletic Bilbao Valencia
Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in all three of his team’s goals as leaders Juventus came from behind to beat 10-man Napoli 3-1 in a Serie A top-ofthe-table clash on Saturday to maintain their perfect start to the season. Dries Mertens gave Napoli an early lead before Ronaldo provided a pinpoint cross for Mario Mandzukic to head in the equaliser and then set up an easy second for the Croat when his shot hit the post.
Ronaldo’s goalbound header also provided the third Juve goal for Leonardo Bonucci after Napoli had left back Mario Rui sent off for a petulant kick at Paulo Dybala.
AS Roma upset the form book with a 3-1 derby win over neighbours Lazio, who had won their last five games in all competitions, while Inter Milan beat Cagliari 2-0 to notch their third league win in a row.