article_snippet: Cristiano Ronaldo has gone almost a year without scoring a free-kick in La Liga despite being Real Madrid’s designated taker, and supporters are now asking if the ball shouldn’t be taken off the Portuguese and given to Gareth Bale.
article_snippet: Cristiano Ronaldo deploys Cristiano Ronaldo trademark technique as Cristiano Ronaldo attempts a free-kick against Villarreal last Sunday .
article_snippet: Cristiano Ronaldo and team-mate Gareth Bale (left) line up a free-kick against Getafe in January .
article_snippet: In any straw poll of best set-piece deliverers Cristiano Ronaldo would be top of many people
article_snippet: the statistics tell a completely different story, and while his figures are poor Bale’s are far more impressive.
article_snippet: Cristiano Ronaldo has sent 21 of Cristiano Ronaldo efforts straight into the wall and placed 14 high or wide of the target; while keepers or posts and crossbars have done for the rest.
article_snippet: Gareth Bale has only scored once this season but Gareth Bale is Real’s only goal scored from a free-kick.
article_snippet: And although Gareth Bale insisted recently on Spanish radio that Cristiano Ronaldo tends to take the kicks that favour a left-footer and Cristiano Ronaldo those that favour a right foot, more often than not it is the Portuguese who takes precedence.
article_snippet: When Gareth Bale scored from a free-kick against Espanyol in January the strike-rates of Europe’s set-piece specialists were published by Spanish football statistician Mister Chip and Europe’s set-piece specialists made tough reading for Cristiano Ronaldo.
article_snippet: Gareth Bale fires a free-kick over the Atletico Madrid wall during a La Liga clash at the Bernabeu .
article_snippet: Gareth Bale scores a free-kick every 9.5 attempts while Cristiano Ronaldo's ratio is one
article_snippet: Gareth Bale also came out ahead of Andrea Pirlo who scores one every 10.5 attempts and Leo Messi who scores every 14 times Gareth Bale takes a free-kick.
highlights_snippet: Real Madrid fans asking whether Gareth Bale should take over set-pieces .
  
highlights_snippet: Gareth Bale scores a free-kick every 9.5 attempts while Cristiano Ronaldo is every 15.6 .
  
highlights_snippet: Gareth Bale: 'It is surreal to be called a Galactico'
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