Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro has defended fellow teammate Gareth Bale, who was booed by Los Blancos fans for the second game in a row.
The Wales international bagged two assists in the 3-0 Champions League triumph over APOEL Nicosia, but he still received a chorus of boos from the club’s supporters.
Bale was substituted in the 82nd minute to be replaced by Borja Mayoral, and he was met with by a cacophony of whistles, although his teammates tried to silence them with a round of applause. Following the game, a number of Los Blancos players came in the Welshman’s support with Casemiro insisting that the attacker remains influential to their style of play.
Speaking to Marca, he said: “He was a very strong player for us and I hope he continues to be so. We try to protect the players we have. We are always defending our own. It shows that we are a family. I defend my team-mates as if they were my family and I am with them until the end. With the quality he has, things will be going well for him one day.”
Bale had managed just a solitary goal in his opening six games, and this led to criticism from a section of the fans. However, he has managed to silence some of those critics with an impressive performance on Tuesday night, which included a couple of assists.
The Welshman currently faces straight competition from club graduate Marco Asensio on the left side of the attack, and he will be hoping to maintain his performances in order to potentially avoid being dropped for the Spain international. Meanwhile, Zinedine Zidane also came in the defence of Bale insisting that he listened to the applause from the fans rather than the jeers, he said: “I did not listen to the whistles, only the applause.”