REVEALED: The full extent of Bale's poor year at Real Madrid

Gareth Bale showed glimpses of form as Real Madrid survived a late fight back to beat Shakhtar Donetsk in a seven-goal thriller in the Champions League, but the statistics are against him at the moment.

The Welshman created both of Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals as Los Blancos raced into a four-goal lead in Ukraine, with Luka Modric and Dani Carvajal also on target.

Before Wednesday, though, Bale had only either scored or assisted in one of his last 10 Champions League appearances - a goal against Ludogorets last season.

Bale’s worrying form extends beyond the Champions League, too.

In 35 games for his club during 2015, he has scored just eight goals, with none of those efforts coming against any side playing in either European competition.

Espanyol, who are 10th in La Liga , are the highest-placed side he has hit the net against this calendar year - his other strikes have coma against Levante (2), Real Betis (2), Getafe, Granada and Cordoba.

His only two goals for Madrid during the current campaign both came in the 5-0 win against Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu in August.

However, Bale will seek solace in his performance against Shakhtar, where he produced his best work on the left side of Madrid’s attack.

That’s the area from which he created both of Ronaldo’s goals, with his pace and power causing the home side's defenders all sorts of problems.

The 26-year-old has now created 21 goals for his Portuguese team-mate - a number which is only bettered by three past and present Madrid players.