Gareth Bale was handed a rare start by Jose Mourinho for Tottenham in their match away to Brighton.
But his performance was a million miles away from the standard we've come to expect from the on-loan Real Madrid star.
Brighton 1-0 Tottenham: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
What was his overall performance like?
📷 Gareth Bale: Match Snapshot
Bale played from the start and managed 61 minutes of the contest before being replaced. He touched the ball just 31 times in that period, the most notable of which was a header off his own goal line when Lewis Dunk seemed set to score.
He made 21 passes with a 67% completion rate, which would be forgivable for a creative player who was creating something. But Bale didn't have a shot on goal or make anything resembling a key pass.
He made no interceptions, no recoveries and won just two of his seven aerial duels. In effect he provided zero tangible impact on the match.
〽️ Bale: Rating Week-on-Week
❌ REGRESSION
Bale was able to help Tottenham turn the match around against Wycombe on Monday, earning a 7.2 FC Rating. But here against much-improved opposition he suffered scoring a lowly 5.6 FC Rating.
🗝️ Key Stats
Gareth Bale match stats
| Statistic | Value |
| FC Rating | 5.6 |
| Mins Played | 61 |
| Touches | 31 |
| Passes | 21 |
| Pass Completion | 67% |
| Touches In Box | 1 |
| Shots | 0 |
| Key Passes | 0 |
| Recoveries | 0 |
Bale: What Next?
This was Bale's chance to prove to Jose Mourinho that he had the capacity to play more minutes and start more matches. But in a game where Tottenham in general were well below par, Bale's performance was one of the worst.
At the moment he appears to be a shadow of the player that was good for Real Madrid before he lost interest, and it's difficult to argue that he showed much interest here. Spurs are spending a lot of money on Bale and he is proving to be nothing more than an expensive, ill-advised, blunder.
Brighton 1-0 Tottenham: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
Gareth Bale 
Tottenham 
Brighton 
Real Madrid 
