Bale ticks the boxes in LASK win

It was ‘job done’ for Gareth Bale on his second full debut for the Club - victory, an assist and another hour in the fitness tank.

Seven years after his last start for us - and, coincidently, 10 years to the week of his famous hat-trick against Inter in the San Siro - the Welsh star stepped out at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for our UEFA Europa League Group J opener against LASK of Austria.

Starting down the right, Gareth set up our second goal when Andres Andrade turned his low cross into his own goal. That was a pity, as debutant Carlos Vinicius was ready to tap the ball home!

Gareth was replaced on 62 minutes by Heung-Min Son, who maintained his fine form in front of goal with the third goal late on. Carlos assisted Sonny’s strike, having earlier laid it on a plate for Lucas Moura to open the scoring.

“The most important thing was we got the three points,” said Gareth. “We know these games can be tricky because maybe we’re expected to win them, but it’s good we went out there and did a professional job, perhaps not the best performance but we got the job done, three points and we move on.”

Having made his Premier League return off the bench against West Ham on Sunday, Gareth appreciates it’s step-by-step for him in terms of building his fitness.

He added: “It’s one of those adaptation periods where I can keep working hard in training, in games and once those match minutes are under my belt I’ll be sharper, better and contributing more to the team.”