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Cape Town - Gareth
Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo gave their critics something to chew on with
goals in Tuesday's Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.
The Welshman opened the scoring at Signal-Iduna-Park with a cracking volley, before the Portuguese star added two more in the second half to wrap up a 3-1 win.
"We had never won here before and this is a significant result," said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane. "I'm delighted for Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo."
Both players have faced criticism from the fans this season, with Bale booed by the Madrid faithful while Ronaldo has not been as prolific as usual in La Liga, and admitted that "the criticism is getting worse".
"I hope that there are more turning points like tonight's, but Gareth is now on really good form," Zidane said of Bale. "He hasn't had it easy and I'm delighted for him.
"Getting a goal like that is fantastic for him. This game will have done wonders for him and if you give him the space he's lethal, he's just so good."
Meanwhile, Ronaldo says he is growing tired of the fickle Madrid fans, telling Atresmedia that "it seems that I have to keep showing exactly who I am in every match".
"I am surprised by what the public thinks of me," Ronaldo said. "My numbers speak for themselves, I am an exemplary professional and I always have a clear mind.
"Before the game we spoke about how much we wanted to win in Dortmund. We did what the coach told us, the team has been phenomenal, creating opportunities and it isn't easy to score three goals here. We played well."
