Brilliant Bale brace hands Spurs crucial first-leg advantage
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 vs OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS 1
WINGER Gareth Bale scored two stunning free-kicks to earn Tottenham victory in their Europa League last 32, first leg clash last night and the Wales star insisted: it was no fluke.
Bale showcased his talent with two perfectly executed dead ball strikes, either side of Samuel Umtiti’s blistering half-volley for Lyon, to give Spurs a slender advantage ahead of next week’s second leg in France.
And the 23-year-old, who has scored all six of Spurs’ goals in their last four games, revealed he had been putting in the hours when it comes to hitting the perfect free-kick.
“I’ve been practising free-kicks on the training ground and I scored one like that last week [against Newcastle],” he said. “Both came at good times in the game.
“Lyon are a good team and we weren’t 100 per cent, but the most important thing is we got the win.”
Bale opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time with a looping free-kick from 35 yards, but Umtiti levelled with a fine half-volley. Bale had the final say though, with a 25-yard strike in the last minute.