# 1 Gareth Bale
After living under the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale will be eager to prove his worth under a new manager. After Ronaldo’s departure, Bale had stated that playing alongside the charismatic Portuguese always helped him improve his game and allowed him to grow as a player. In the absence of Ronaldo, Bale will be the guiding force of the Real Madrid forward line.
The 30-year old’s partnership with Karim Benzema will be crucial when Real Madrid play against teams who are defensively strong. The Wales international has the ability to shut out the best defenses with his accelerating pace. The striker has highlighted his ability to score from difficult positions that can puzzle the best defenses. His superb bicycle kick in the 2017-18 Champions League final against Liverpool was simply brilliant.
Bale scored 16 goals in 26 La Liga games with 3 assists to his name in the last season and will be eager to improve his goalscoring performances. Bale started his Champions League season a decent note as he scored a goal in Real Madrid’s win over AS Roma which could motivate him to do well in the rest of the season. Bale has already scored 3 goals in 6 La Liga games in the ongoing season.