Gareth Bale scores against former club Spurs as Real Madrid triumph in Audi Cup

Gareth Bale faced Tottenham on Tuesday for the first time since leaving the club – and he scored as Real Madrid triumphed 2-0 in the semi-final of the Audi Cup.

James Rodriguez headed Real into the lead in the first half and, in the 79th minute, Bale latched onto a loose pass from Nabil Bentaleb and saw his 25-yard shot bounce through Michel Vorm at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

The Madrid side also included former Spurs midfielder Luka Modric, who was nutmegged by 19-year-old midfielder Dele Alli.

But a toothless Tottenham side were defeated for the second pre-season game in a row, following their 2-1 loss to the MLS All-Stars last Thursday morning.

Spurs face AC Milan in the play-off for third place today at 5.15pm (UK time) – less than three days before their Premier League opener away at Old Trafford at 12.45pm on Saturday.

The decision to take part in the tournament has raised eyebrows, and Mauricio Pochettino played Harry Kane – the club’s only senior striker – for 85 minutes against Madrid on Tuesday, while Mousa Dembele, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, Toby Alderweireld and Vorm were on the pitch for the whole game.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado are still at the club, but they were both left out of the group that travelled to Munich.

Adebayor’s proposed move to Aston Villa had still not been finalised while Spurs are trying to negotiate a fee for Soldado with Spanish outfit Villarreal.