Mon 03 May 2021, 11:37
Tottenham HotspurClutching the matchball after his superb hat-trick against Sheffield United, Gareth Bale insisted: “We had to give the fans something to cheer about.” He made sure we did just that...
The Welsh star was at his clinical best to score in the 35th, 61st and 69th minutes as we ran out deserved 4-0 winners against the Blades at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. His first treble for us since a Boxing Day win at Villa in 2012, Gareth also reached the 50-goal milestone in the Premier League, the eighth player to score 50-plus for the Club in the competition.
Heung-Min Son wrapped up the victory with an equally impressive finish on 77 minutes. We racked up 20 efforts at goal, four goals, a clean sheet and a Bale hat-trick - the perfect Sunday.
Asked how important it was to bounce back after last week’s Carabao Cup Final defeat, Gareth replied: “Yes, massively important. Everyone was disappointed after the final, but we’re all professional and we had to respond well and give the fans something to cheer about. Hopefully, we did that tonight.”
Serge Aurier provided two assists, the first a moment of magic to unlock United, a clever chip over the top of the defence for Gareth to then lift over Aaron Ramsdale. But you felt the second goal was key after the visitors started well in the second half. This was all about Sonny, who evaded two challenges as we broke from a corner before rolling into the path of Gareth, charging forward, and the finish was deadly into the top corner.
Gareth added: “We’ve been working on things in training, and it doesn’t happen overnight, some of the things we want to implement, but it’s important that we got the first goal, because they make it difficult.
“They were on top for the first five minutes of the second half, came out, made it difficult for us, but we showed our quality, we were patient, moved the ball well and, yes, that second goal killed the game a little.”
As for that last hat-trick, over eight years ago, Gareth beamed: “I do remember the last one, but I’ve been away for seven years, so it seems worse than it really is!”
