Bale brings end to 801-minute LaLiga goal drought

Gareth Bale had gone 10 games without a league goal for Real Madrid, but finally found the back of the net against Huesca on Sunday.

Gareth Bale has finally brought an end to his longest-ever LaLiga goal drought, thanks to a goal against Huesca at the Estadio El Alcoraz on Sunday.

After having gone 801 minutes without a goal, the Welshman found himself on the end of an Odriozola cross and struck a side-footed volley inside the box to give Real Madrid their opening goal against Los Oscenses.

Bale’s last league goal had come against Léganes on September 1, after which he had played against Athletic, Sevilla, Atlético, Alavés, Levante, Barcelona, Valladolid, Celta, Eibar and Valencia without finding the net – despite having had 35 shots on goal in those 10 games.

The ex-Spurs striker will be delighted to have finally ended his unlucky streak. But the stark reality is that the Huesca goal brings his LaLiga tally to just four, which is a disappointing statistic, particularly in Madrid's first post-Ronaldo season when the club was looking to him to at least partly make up for the 50-goal-a-season void left by the Portuguese talisman.

Only once in his Madrid career has Bale had fewer goals at this point of the season: last season he had only scored two goals after 15 games played, although he had only played a part in five of those games due to his absence through injury.

The Welshman's numbers in LaLiga are in sharp contrast with those in the Champions League. Before the goal against Huesca, he averaged a goal every 325 minutes in the league, while in European competition this season, he has found the back of the net every 107 minutes.