There was a feeling of déjà vu for Real Madrid fans when prodigal son Gareth Bale returned to the pitch and scored the club's first goal of the evening against Levante on Sunday. It only took the Welshman five minutes to remind spectators of his glory days with the Spanish giants.

Bale's strike from his left-foot gave Real Madrid the early lead but Levante fought hard to salvage a 3-3 draw in the end.

However, Bale's goal was the talk of the town owing to the fact that this is his first goal for Real Madrid in 578 days. That's a very long drought for a player who won four Champions League titles with Los Blancos.

It would be an understatement to say that Bale had been suffering a slump, after having spent most of the past three seasons on the bench or out on loan. His last goal for the club was in Real Madrid's Copa del Rey match against Unionistas back on January 22, 2020. That same season, he only scored three times for Real Madrid, his lowest tally since joining the club.

Last season, he returned to England on loan to Tottenham Hotspur, and it came as a massive surprise when he made it clear that he fully intended to play out the final year of his contract with Real Madrid.

Returning manager Carlo Ancelotti has shown an extraordinary amount of confidence in Bale, giving him two starts in a row this season. The Italian knows the player well of course, after having worked together between 2013-2015 during the manager's first spell in charge of the Santiago Bernabeu.

Indeed, while his passion and motivation has been questioned in the past couple of years, Bale has always kept his quality. Last season, he scored 14 goals for the Spurs.

Ancelotti is determined to make the most of the situation, and work with Bale in order to have a successful season together.

Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale scored in two Champions League finals for Real Madrid and won the competition four times AFP / Filippo MONTEFORTE
Real Madrid