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Zidane: Spectacular Gareth Bale in phenomenal form ahead of showdown with Manchester City
JUST 48 HOURS before Manchester City's Champions League clash with Real Madrid Gareth Bale has been told he is in "phenomenal" form.
Bale has scored 57 goals in 118 games since joining Real Madrid for a world record fee in 2013
Bale scored twice on Saturday night as Real fought back from two goals down to beat Rayo Vallecano, keeping the club within one point of Barcelona in the race for the La Liga title.
Coach Zinedine Zidance was without Cristiano Ronaldo - understood to be fit for Tuesday night's clash - but said: "Bale is a spectacular footballer and he demonstrated that by scoring a decisive goal.
"He has not been fit for long but physically he was good. I'm very happy with him and he's very happy for being able to make the difference.
"More than his two goals, he did both offensive and defensive work very well. He improved physically as the game went on, which is important for him and the team. He had a little discomfort, but he was phenomenal."
And on Ronaldo Zidane added: "Cristiano will travel to Manchester."