The Welsh winger scored twice at Real Sociedad, with the 20-year-old Spaniard also on target in an impressive win as the Colombian barely featured again
Zinedine Zidane will be delighted. The Frenchman was without Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Pepe and Keylor Navas on Sunday, but saw his side emerge with a win at a venue that is traditionally one of the most difficult in La Liga. All thanks to Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio.
There had been question marks over Bale's fitness after he returned later than most due to his participation in Euro 2016, but the Welsh winger was on target with a fine header after just 73 seconds at Anoeta, got up and down the pitch all night and rounded off the scoring with a breakaway goal right at the end to ensure an impressive 3-0 victory in the team's Primera Division opener.
This is a fixture Madrid have struggled with in the past and two seasons ago, Los Blancos took a 2-0 lead at Anoeta, only to lose out 4-2 with Carlo Ancelotti in charge. But not this time. Just before the break, 20-year-old sensation Marco Asensio raced onto a ball from Raphael Varane and coolly chipped Geronimo Rulli to make it 2-0. It was another fine goal after his stunning strike in the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla earlier in August.
Despite all of their absences, Madrid had few problems and there was still no place in the team for Isco or James Rodriguez. Both came on as substitutes late in the game, but the Colombian in particular looks as if he could end up leaving before the transfer window slams shut at the end of this month.
Bale's rapid return to full fitness, along with the emergence of Asensio - who now has two goals in his two competitive appearances for the club - means the former Monaco playmaker could yet be on his way out.
In the build-up to the match, Zidane revealed that new players would only arrive if one of the current squad is sold in this window. And with serious overbooking in midfield, James is the prime candidate, the Frenchman admitting earlier in the week that his situuation is "complicated".
Asked again and again about the South American's future, the Frenchman has repeated himself. "James is here," he says. "I'm happy with him and he will be staying."
However, it is never entirely convincing. And while he may be happy to have the 25-year-old at the club, the Colombian is unlikely to be content at his bit-part role that saw him feature for only 13 minutes in San Sebastian - and that with Ronaldo, Benzema and Modric all out, Mateo Kovacic picked in the starting XI and Isco brought on before him.
Earlier in the summer, the player himself said he was keen to fight to make his "dream" move to Real Madrid a success, but his situation is yet to improve under Zidane after a difficult start following the Frenchman's arrival last season and a repeat this time around.
It has been a quiet window so far for Madrid, with only Alvaro Morata brought back from Juventus, Asensio staying after a loan spell at Espanyol last season and Fabio Coentrao returning following a year at Monaco.
With a transfer ban still hanging over the club pending an appeal, this had looked set to be a busy summer for the club. It has been just the opposite so far, although Zidane has insisted that until August 31, "anything can happen". And that includes the possible sale of James Rodriguez.
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