Ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has explained to TNT Sports why his former side do well in Europe, but struggle domestically. Spurs beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on Tuesday, ending a barren run of five games without victory across all competitions. Tottenham are now fourth in the UEFA Champions League table. Watch the UEFA Champions League live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Gareth Bale believes Tottenham Hotspur are "more suited to European competition" than they are to the Premier League.
In the midst of a rocky run with head coach Thomas Frank under mounting pressure, Spurs delivered an excellent result as they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on a comfortable evening in North London.
The victory catapulted Spurs up to fourth in the UEFA Champions League table - at least ahead of Wednesday's fixtures - with one matchweek to go, as Frank's side eye an automatic route to the last 16.
While on duty for TNT Sports at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Bale suggested Spurs perform better in Europe than they do domestically, and backed up his theory.
"It’s a different type of football, European football," he explained. "You’re playing teams from different countries, it’s not so physical, it’s not so demanding.
"Everybody knows what the Premier League’s like, it’s very fast and furious. Maybe this team is more suited to European competition with the record last year in the Europa League.
"They somehow need to find a solution to playing in the Premier League and really improve their home form drastically, because their away form is pretty good.
"If they can just change their home fortunes, get the crowd behind them and giving them their confidence back, and making this the fortress it used to be."
Spurs famously ended their 17-year wait for a major trophy under Ange Postecoglou last season, winning the UEFA Europa League with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
However, they finished 17th-place in the Premier League in the same season - their worst finish in the top-flight since 1977.
This campaign has gone similarly, with Spurs sitting pretty in fourth in the Champions League behind only rivals Arsenal, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Their European campaign so far has been impressive with four wins - over Dortmund, Slavia Prague, Copenhagen and Villarreal - two draws and only one defeat.
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But they have not managed to replicate that form domestically, where they sit 14th after 22 games with just 27 points.
Before their Champions League triumph on Tuesday, they were without victory in five and crashed out of the Emirates FA Cup.
Their home form has been particularly concerning, having won just two of their 11 Premier League games, losing six.
"You need to take each game as it comes," Bale added, after a rare night of euphoria for Spurs in North London.
"When you’re in these bad runs, you need to just focus on the next game. They got this out of the way, a positive result and a great performance, the team worked very hard in terms of their work rate, which showed the fans and the manager that they’re committed.
"Now they’ll turn their attention to the next game. It’s crazy in football, a week of good results can really change the mood and narrative of a club - hopefully that happens."
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