Jose Mourinho believes anyone wondering why it took Gareth Bale so long to hit top form for Tottenham would be better off asking Real Madrid.
Bale had a miserable start to his Tottenham return after coming back to the club on a season-long loan deal in September.
He struggled with his form and fitness, quickly falling out of favour with Mourinho.
Bale has been revitalised of late though, impressing in two Europa League games against Wolfsberger as well as Premier League clashes against West Ham and Burnley.
Mourinho recently said Bale was the happiest, fittest and most confident he has ever been at Tottenham.
The Spurs boss confirmed Bale had another good reaction to his 70-minute outing in the 4-0 win over Burnley on Sunday.
It means the Wales international is in contention to play at least some part when Spurs take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Thursday.
"For the past two years, he had what he had in Madrid," said Mourinho. "Ask them [why it took Bale so long to find form].
"Maybe if they answer you, you can understand better why he took a while.
"Maybe to be patient was the main reason for him to reach the level he showed in the last couple of weeks."
Asked if Bale would be involved in the Fulham game, he added: "I believe so. Starting or on the bench I don't know, we have to decide that.
"He is such an experienced guy so of course his opinion is very important. But he has had a good reaction [after the Burnley game], a good recovering session and he will be involved.
"I repeat: [it could be] bench or starting, but he will be there."
Midfielder Giovani Lo Celso will not be rushed back despite returning to training.
"He is training with the team but it was a big injury," added Mourinho.
"We are not going to risk [him] yet. In fact, we don't want to risk [him at all], we want to bring him to the team and competition when there is no risk. One week, two more weeks.
"Apart from that, everyone OK. One more training session after this but everyone OK."
BALE'S SWIFT IMPROVEMENT
Bale has registered four goals and three assists in his last four games for Tottenham.
In his first 16 matches since returning, he only recorded four goals and did not register a single assist.
The 31-year-old's minutes per goal involvement have impressively plummeted from 200.8 in his first 16 matches to one every 28.7 in this most recent four-match span.
Bale is having more of an active role in other areas too. His chances created per 90 minutes are up to 3.1 from just 1.1, while his shot conversion rate is 44.4 per cent, up from 10.5.
It is only a small sample size and two of the matches were against weaker opposition in Wolfsberger, but the signs are encouraging.
The amount of shots he is taking is similar (4 per game compared to 4.3 before), but notably more of Spurs' attacks are coming through Bale.
He has accounted for 22 per cent of Spurs' shots in the last four matches, where before he was responsible for just nine per cent of their attempts in the time he was on the pitch.
HOW DO HIS STATS COMPARE TO REAL MADRID?
The recent burst from Bale means his statistics since returning to Spurs compare favourably to his successful Madrid tenure in a number of categories.
Again, it is worth noting his Spurs figures are from a comparatively small sample size making them more prone to fluctuations – 20 matches compared to 251 in the Spanish capital.
Bale has 11 goal involvements for Spurs (eight goals and three assists) in 1,004 minutes on the pitch, giving him an average of 91 minutes per contribution.
At Madrid, he averaged one every 111 minutes.
Bale also compares favourably when looking solely at minutes per goal (171 at Madrid v 126 at Spurs).
He did, however, win 65 per cent of the games he played in at Madrid, compared to 60 per cent since returning to Spurs, a sign of the difficult season experienced by the London club.
Harry Winks fires leaders Leicester to dramatic late victory at West Brom
Harry Winks scored a last-gasp winner as Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester beat West Brom 2-1 in a dramatic finish to give manager Enzo Maresca a winning first return to The Hawthorns.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s 72nd-minute header – his sixth goal of the season – gave Leicester the lead and the midfielder then set up Winks in the fourth minute of stoppage time after substitute Josh Maja looked like he had rescued a point.
Maresca, who started his professional career at West Brom and played 47 games there between 1998-2000, will have been relieved as there was little between the teams, who both hit the goal frame in the first half.
West Brom had a penalty claim turned down when Grady Diangana went down after it appeared he was pushed over in the box; VAR might have intervened if it was available.
Albion then failed to react quickly enough when goalkeeper Mads Hermansen played a poor pass out and it was intercepted, Brandon Thomas-Asante eventually having a shot blocked.
The home side went even closer in the 25th minute when Cedric Kipre stabbed against a post with the goalkeeper beaten after Matt Phillips’s corner had flicked off a couple of heads.
But Leicester returned fire to hit the goal frame themselves when Kelechi Iheanacho’s low angled drive was deflected onto the near post by Darnell Furlong’s lunge.
It looked like things might open up after the break when Diangana’s curling shot was deflected over the bar off Wout Faes.
But instead it became very scrappy, with both teams guilty of giving the ball away in midfield and defences remained on top.
That almost changed when Wilfred Ndidi got on the end of a cross from substitute Abdul Fatawu, but his flicked header under pressure lacked the power to beat Alex Palmer, who fumbled before the ball was cleared.
The Ndidi-Fatawu link-up combined again to devastating effect in the 72nd minute.
Fatawu spotted Ndidi’s run beyond the Albion midfield in the inside right position and the latter crossed for Dewsbury-Hall to nod the ball home ahead of Furlong from six yards out.
Albion equalised in very scrappy fashion. Furlong’s throw-in was headed away by Faes and, when the ball came back in, Kipre helped it on – a grounded Leicester defender could only tee up Maja to prod home his first goal since February 2022.
But Leicester hit Albion on the counter when they broke on a long throw-in and Iheanacho passed from inside his own half to Dewsbury-Hall, who ran 40 yards with the ball before drawing Palmer and slipping in Winks for an open goal.
Magic savour 'special' Washington triumph after record-equalling ninth straight win
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero and coach Jamahl Mosley both lauded a "special" night for the team as they equalled the franchise's record winning run by overcoming the Washington Wizards.
Banchero finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Franz Wagner had a game-high 31 points as Orlando beat Washington for the second time in two days on Friday, clinching a 130-125 success at Amway Center.
The victory was Orlando's ninth in a row, taking them to 14-5 for the season and matching their longest ever streak, with the team having previously won nine straight in 1994, 2001 and 2010-11.
Orlando are one of just two NBA franchises – along with the Indiana Pacers – to never enjoy a double-digit winning run, but they have the chance to do so for the first time when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
"It's pretty special," Banchero said of the team's run, which began with the first of back-to-back road wins over the Chicago Bulls on November 15.
"Eventually I think a loss is going to come, but we just want to keep it rolling for as long as we can.
"But you're not surprised when you do something like this because we've got great chemistry and we play really well together."
Orlando are up to second in the Eastern Conference, with only the 15-4 Boston Celtics and the 14-4 Minnesota Timberwolves boasting better records across the entire league.
Head coach Mosley said: "It's a big time for this group, but more importantly, I think it's a big time for the fans and the organisation.
"There's an energy, there's a vibe, a buzz about this group, and our guys are doing a good job of embracing it, not getting too high or too low but being able to register that this is something special."
West Ham boss David Moyes is expecting another tough test against Crystal Palace.
The Eagles are unbeaten in their last four visits to the London Stadium, winning two and drawing two.
But West Ham have won four of their last five matches in all competitions ahead of Sunday’s London derby.
“Crystal Palace have always been a tough team to play against throughout the years,” said Moyes.
“Roy Hodgson, as a manager, is always really well organised and highly prepared for whoever they’re playing against. It will be a really tough game for us, as are all the games in the Premier League.”
Former England boss Hodgson is the oldest manager in the Premier League having turned 76 in August.
Moyes, a relative spring chicken at 60, added: “I hope Roy stays working in the Premier League because that then means I’m not the oldest.
“Roy is doing a fine job and let’s hope he continues. He has been an incredible ambassador for football. The way he’s gone about the job, he’s a gentleman in what he does.
“To continue working in football now shows just how much love for the game he has.”
Moyes hopes to have Jarrod Bowen available after the forward missed the last two matches with a knee injury picked up on England duty.
Mohammed Kudus and Vladimir Coufal sat out the midweek Europa League win over Backa Topola in Serbia through illness and will also be assessed.
Striker Michail Antonio is still sidelined with a knee problem.
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