football. 'Stepped up in Ronaldo's absence' Player of the Week.

World Player of the Week

Gareth Bale   AGE 24 POSITION Forward PLAYS FOR Real Madrid WEEK IN NUMBERS APPS (GOALS SCORED) 2(4) TIME ON PITCH 180 PREVIOUS WINS 0

Real Madrid	4-1	Galatasaray
Real Madrid	4-0	Valladolid

Injury has kept Cristiano Ronaldo out of Real Madrid's last two games but in his absence Gareth Bale has stepped up to the plate and adopted the role of talisman.
The world's most expensive player was troubled by injury in the early weeks of the campaign but after returning to full fitness he has helped to close the gap on Barcelona to just three points in La Liga and gone a small way towards justifying his sizeable transfer fee.Goal's Miguel Churrucca says: "Gareth Bale had his first really convincing performances with Real Madrid last Wednesday & Saturday. The Welshman was suposed to lead los Blancos with Cristiano Ronaldo injured and he accomplished his aim in great fashion.

"He opened the scoring in the Champions League win against Galatasaray with a free-kick and then did the same against Valladolid on Saturday with a header to make it 1-0.
"It was his sumptuous cross that set-up Karim Benzema for Madrid's second and then the former Tottenham winger added two more goals - with his left and right foot - to complete a perfect hat-trick and a resounding 4-0 win."

Congratulations to Gareth Bale, Goal's 238th World Player of the Week winner!

The Shortlist

Arjen Robben - Bayern Munich @MO_Bulhan: "Is at the same level as Ribery and should rival him for the Ballon d'Or." Goal's Falko Bloeding: "Made one and scored one in Moscow and then struck twice in the 2-0 win over Eintracht Braunschweig."
Diego Costa - Atletico Madrid  @DreCordero: "Costa's goal doesn't make any sense and Simeone's reaction was perfect." Goal's Craig Turnbull: "Closed the gap on Ronaldo in the race for the European Golden Shoe with a wonder goal."
Katlego Mashego - Sundowns @mxomandla: "He's destroying his former team #mashego #swa #sundowns Goal's Ignat Manjoo: "Scored two goals against his former club Swallows to send his side to the top of the league."
Aaron Ramsey - Arsenal @HenryWinter: Brilliant from Aaron Ramsey and Cardiff fans. Good to see such mutual respect." Goal's Alec Fenn: "He now has 13 goals in all competitions after scoring twice against former club Cardiff City."