It has been a slightly strange summer for Real Madrid star Gareth Bale with the Welshman’s future seemingly up in the air after an indifferent campaign with the Spanish giants in 2016/17.

The former Tottenham man was hampered by numerous injuries throughout the season, limiting his participation and also affecting his form when he was fit enough to make the team.

The likes of Isco and Marco Asensio stepped up in the flying winger’s absence, delivering a host of world-class performances to render themselves nearly undroppable to manager, Zinedine Zidane.

However, at the start of the 2017/18 season, Bale seems to have rediscovered some of the golden touch that made him one of the world’s most coveted stars a few years back.

He excelled in the European Super Cup against Manchester United and in Los Blancos’ first La Liga game of the season, he got off to a flying start.

The Welshman notched Real’s first goal of the season against Deportivo la Coruna, reacting to a loose ball in the box to prod into an empty net and in doing so, he set a very impressive record.

In the last three La Liga campaigns it has been Bale who has scored the first goal for the Spanish giants on all three occasions.

Very impressive from the Welsh star, who will be desperate for an injury-free campaign to remind the world that he is still one of the best.

Los Blancos won the game at Deportivo with relative ease, claiming a 3-0 victory despite club captain Sergio Ramos picking up his 23rd red card of his career just before the end.

Bale, Casemiro and Toni Kroos scored the goals to seal the three points as Zidane aims to retain his La Liga crown.

Real’s next league game see’s them take on Valencia at the Bernabeu and with Cristiano Ronaldo still serving his five-match suspension for pushing the referee against Barcelona, the onus will again be on Bale to fill the Portuguese star’s shoes.