Gareth Bale has not started eight of Real Madrid's matches this season
In the games he has missed, Real boast a 100 per cent win record
Real have scored 25 goals and conceded just one without the Welshman
In the 42 matches that Bale has started, Real's win record is 69 per cent
Real Madrid's Champions League victory over city rivals Atletico on Wednesday night marked the eighth match Gareth Bale has not started this season... and Real have won every single one.
The Welshman has received some criticism from sections of the Bernabeu support despite a bright start in Madrid, and these remarkable stats will do nothing to help his popularity at the club.
The £86million man has missed out on just eight starts in Real Madrid's 50 matches this term, but his team-mates have picked up a 100 per cent win record when he has been away, scoring 25 and conceding just one goal.
Bale's time on the sidelines has coincided with huge matches against Barcelona, two Champions League ties with Liverpool (in which he entered the fray as a 62nd-minute substitute at the Bernabeu), and Wednesday night's European quarter-final against Atletico... but it seems the rest of the Real squad are just fine without him.
In the first half of the season, Bale suffered a buttock muscle injury while on international duty with Wales, and he missed La Liga matches against Levante (5-0 win), Barcelona (3-1 win), Granada (4-0 win) and a 3-0 Champions League victory against Liverpool.
He was in contention for the return leg against Liverpool at the Bernabeu, but did not start the match, instead coming on as a second-half substitute. Real were 1-0 up when he came on, and the score remained the same until the final whistle.
In December, Madrid were already leading 4-1 against third-tier side Cornella in their Copa del Rey tie heading into the second leg, and Carlo Ancelotti opted to rest some of his biggest names.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Bale were all among the stars watching on from the sidelines as Los Blancos recorded a comfortable 5-0 win. That's six games without Bale in the starting line-up, and six wins for Real.
Moving into 2015, Bale played a major role in the team's start to the year, scoring 12 goals between his return to the side against Celta Vigo and his omission against Eibar on April 11.
Ancelotti stated in the build-up to the match that he had decided to rest the Welshman, while the team went on to win 3-0 against their struggling opposition.
Bale again returned the side for two matches, a goalless draw against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and a win against Malaga in La Liga, but suffered a calf injury in the early stages of the latter domestic clash.
Instead of taking to the field in the crucial European match on Wednesday night, Bale was resigned to watching the match from home, where he tweeted his support of the team.
Javier Hernandez's late goal ensured another victory for Ancelotti's men, taking their Bale-less record to eight wins, no draws and no losses.
With the Welshman, Real have a 69 per cent win record, far from disastrous, recording 29 wins, four draws and nine losses.
But the stats without him will surely give ammunition to those unhappy with their £86million man.
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