Gareth Bale is the man of the moment at Real Madrid following his hat-trick in Saturday night's 4-0 win at home over Valladolid.
Bale scored the perfect hat-trick with his head, right foot and left foot to help the fans forget the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, who was absent with a muscle injury.
The Welshman took advantage of two defensive errors and fine work from Marcelo to complete his first hat-trick for Real Madrid and made his goal tally to the season to seven in the BBVA Primera Liga.
"Now I feel I am part of the team and I am enjoying myself," he said afterwards in an interview on Real Madrid TV, adding that after starting the campaign with physical problems, he is now in approaching full fitness.
"I am getting closer to 100 percent fit, but I have to carry on working. This is a special moment for me after scoring my first hat-trick in the Bernabeu. It is nice to score, but it is also good to set up your companions to score," said Bale in reference to his cross which set up Karim Benzema for Real Madrid's second goal of the night.
Finally, Bale insisted it would be an error to compare him to Ronaldo.
"He is a level above the rest of us. He is the best," said Bale, adding that he did not feel extra pressure from Ronaldo's absence.
Bale received the support of coach Carlo Ancelotti, who confirmed that in his opinion Bale was not fully adapted to lie at his new club after his record signing this summer.
"His adaptation has finished, his is important, he has confidence and he did very well," said Ancelotti.
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