All hail the Prince of Goals! Real have a new hero as Bale steps up in absence of Ronaldo to hit first hat-trick for Spanish giants

By John Drayton

PUBLISHED: 06:56 EST, 1 December 2013 | UPDATED: 10:14 EST, 1 December 2013

Real Madrid's record signing Gareth Bale was hailed as the 'Prince of Goals' after his hat-trick and assist in Saturday's 4-0 La Liga win at home to Real Valladolid.

With prolific Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo sidelined by injury, Bale stepped up to net his first treble since his £85.million move from Tottenham Hotspur and coach Carlo Ancelotti suggested the Wales winger has finally settled in to life at Madrid.

'He is in good shape, he is confident and he is a very important player for us,' Ancelotti said. 'He performed very well today.'

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Claiming a treble: Gareth Bale takes away the match after scoring his first Real Madrid hat-trick against Valladolid

Claiming a treble: Gareth Bale takes away the match after scoring his first Real Madrid hat-trick against Valladolid

Finger on the pulse: Bale celebrates completing his hat-trick for Real against Valladolid

Finger on the pulse: Bale celebrates completing his hat-trick for Real against Valladolid

Real's heartbeat: Bale is hailed on Marca's front page
Football royalty: Bale is hailed on the front page of AS

Real's heartbeat: Bale is hailed on Marca's front page, right, and AS also hail the Welsh winger

Signed, sealed and delivered: Bale posted a picture of the hat-trick ball on Instagram

Signed, sealed and delivered: Bale posted a picture of the hat-trick ball on Instagram

Bale's pre-season preparations were disrupted by the protracted negotiations over his transfer and he then picked up a minor muscle strain but now appears to be back to full fitness and eager to impress the Real faithful.

Saturday's haul was a so-called 'perfect hat-trick' - a header and a goal scored with each foot - and was only the second La Liga treble by a Briton after Gary Lineker's for Barcelona in 1987.

Sports daily As acclaimed Bale on their front page on Sunday as 'Prince of Wales' (Principe de Gales), while rival newspaper Marca went for the headline 'Prince of Goals' (Principe de Goles).

'It is always a pleasure to score but even more when you are able to score a hat-trick at the Santiago Bernabeu,' Bale said after grabbing a match ball and soaking up a post-match ovation from the Real faithful.

Happy times: Gareth Bale, left, embraces Real team-mate Marcelo after after scoring their third goal against Valladolid
English treble: Former Barcelona striker Gary Lineker was the last Briton to score a hat-trick in La Liga before Bale hit his

Happy times: Bale, left, embraces Real team-mate Marcelo after after scoring their third goal against Valladolid and former Barcelona striker Gary Lineker was the last Briton to score a hat-trick in La Liga before Bale hit his

Opening the scoring: Bale scores Real's first with his head against Valladolid

Opening the scoring: Bale scores Real's first with his head against Valladolid

Stroking home: Bale completes his hat-trick for Real in front of the home fans at the Bernabeu

Stroking home: Bale completes his hat-trick for Real in front of the home fans at the Bernabeu

'My team-mates congratulated me for the match. It's always a pleasure to score, but even more so when you can score a hat-trick in the Santiago Bernabeu.

'I am very happy here. 'I needed time to adapt after not having a proper pre-season but now I am improving. Everything I hoped for has come true. The fans and the club are incredible.

'I scored three goals but I hope to do better. I can do it. I want to keep improving and working hard during the matches and training sessions and learn from the best, like Cristiano Ronaldo. He's the best player in the world and he deserves the Ballon d'Or.'

On the progress of his Spanish, the 24-year-old said: 'I'm slowly learning my first foreign language but I'm not ready to use it yet. I'm working on it a lot off the pitch.'

Bale still has some way to go to match Ronaldo's incredible goal-scoring feats and the former Manchester United forward remains the undisputed king of the dressing room and a hero to the notoriously demanding Real fans.

The 28-year-old has netted 14 goals in his last seven appearances for club and country and is favourite to scoop the FIFA Ballon d'Or award ahead of Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery when the winner is announced next month.

Watching brief: Ronaldo, who is currently injured, and his girlfriend, Irina Shayk watch Real play Valladolid

Watching brief: Ronaldo, who is currently injured, and his girlfriend, Irina Shayk watch Real play Valladolid

In full flow: Ronaldo glides past Almeria's Jesus Joaquin Fernandez in action for Real

In full flow: Ronaldo glides past Almeria's Jesus Joaquin Fernandez in action for Real

Ronaldo has proven himself in key matches against some of Real's biggest rivals in La Liga and Europe, something Bale has yet to achieve, and Valladolid turned in one of the weakest performances seen at the Bernabeu for some time.

Mired down in 17th in La Liga, their players gifted Bale his opening two goals with some woeful defending and failed to pick him up when he raced into the penalty area to clip home a Marcelo cross for his third late on.

Until Bale performs against Barca and Atletico Madrid in La Liga or the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Europe, some will remain unconvinced he can ever justify his record transfer fee.

Fearsome partnership: Real can call upon Ronaldo and Bale in attack

Fearsome partnership: Real can call upon Ronaldo and Bale in attack

'He has not yet adapted completely,' Real great Alfredo Di Stefano told Marca this week.

'He is coming from England when they tend to play a longer game and he is better suited to that,' added the 87-year-old.

'Here he is having to play with the ball at his feet, with short passes and he still needs to get used to

Full-back Marcelo said Bale and Ronaldo should not compared.

'There is no need to compare them, Cristiano is above the rest of the players and everyone in the team knows that.

'Bale is a great player and is doing well.'

 
 

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So happy he's doing well and Spurs are wafty!

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What's all this assist crap, we're not in the US and it isn't NFL.

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I am really delighted for him but I wish he would climb out of Ronaldo's backside. The frequent obsequious praise is becoming tiresome.

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he has 2 otherwize ronaldo will pout lol

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Great job, Gareth! I hope that the King Of Goals (C. Ronaldo) also signed his game ball.

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It doesn't matter who is "Prince" or who is "King", Bale and Ronaldo are about to form one of the most fearsome partnerships ever!

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Looks like Gareth Bale is proving that he is value for money.

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bale scoring goals against a relegation side? didnt see that coming!

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Who cares about football when you have Ronaldo's girlfriend on screen.

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it is true what di stephano said, epl is just a long ball, kick and rush league. apart from arsenal no team strings 10 passes at a go

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it funny how everyone says la liga is rubbish whilst most premier league clubs buy their players from the league and most of their stars are from la liga. and for those who are saying it is easy to score in spain just look at aguero, negredo, cazorla and mata they have all scored kore in EPL than in spain so does that make the EPL A JOKE LEAGUE??????????? idiots

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