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Gareth Bale is incredible, says Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas says he has been stunned by Gareth Bale's "incredible" free-kick technique after the winger's double against Lyon.
Bale, 23, followed up his goal in Saturday's win against Newcastle with two more set-piece strikes in the 2-1 Europa League home-leg victory.
"Incredible," Villas-Boas said. "Not only his all-round game but the ability he has to strike these free-kicks.
"The ball gains power when he strikes it and it changes direction easily."
Bale excelled in the Europa League round of 32 first-leg meeting with Lyon as he first found the back of the net with a swerving 35-yard effort before powering home the winner from a dead ball deep into injury-time.
Bale's brilliance
Bale's brace of free-kicks took him to 17 goals in all competitions this season, with four of his last six strikes coming from distance
He has now scored his club's last six goals in all competitions, with four of them coming from distance. The Welsh winger attributes this run of form to the hours spent on the training pitch honing his technique.
"I've been practising free-kicks on the training ground and I scored one like that last week," the Welsh winger said.
Spurs travel to France for the return match on Thursday and Bale hopes his brace will prove crucial.
"Lyon are a good team and we weren't 100% to be honest - we looked a bit tired," he said.
"But the most important thing is we got the win, it's going to be hard going over there, but we're taking this competition seriously."
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Comment number 322.
Owain glyn6617th February 2013 - 19:35
Love Gareth Bale. I remember the Spurs fans wanted him out a few seasons ago and Milan game in for him but thankfully you kept him . Really impressed with Spurs this season even though I don't support them. My only criticism would be Scott Parker...his legs have gone. He doesn't have a killer pass, he's not worth 7 million and maybe it's time at the end of the season for him to step down.
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Comment number 321.
DrCajetanCoelho16th February 2013 - 11:50
Congratulations to scorer Gareth Bale.
All the best to AVB, his footballers and fans.
Dr. Cajetan Coelho
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Comment number 320.
tottenham696916th February 2013 - 10:17
just need a great striker for all of his crosses and we have two great scores + defoe which could make 3 2 strikers and our left mid.... we could be n contention for the title with a god striker
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Comment number 319.
OxfordRover16th February 2013 - 10:03
@ NUMBER88GAMESTER
Oh, don't get me wrong, he is playing some superb stuff and deserves his plaudits. But for god's sake, enough is enough. It's starting to get so as I cant open up the BBC Football Website without seeing his ugly mug plastered all over it.....
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Comment number 318.
NUMBER88GAMESTER16th February 2013 - 9:56
@ OxfordRover
Gareth Bale performing at such a high level at the moment, being awarded man of the match award every game and scoring more goals than he's playing games (Most or which being spectacular), all from midfield. While simultaneously exhibiting his athleticism and defensive prowess by tracking back and making vital tackles around his own area. If anything, the BBC needs more Bale stuff.
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Comments 5 of 322