At one point in the second half of Real Madrid's 1-1 draw with Juventus on Wednesday, Gareth Bale got a ball on the right wing and had time and space to use his blazing speed to beat the defender and find a cross into the box.

He had this clear mindset and tried to dribble around the defender, but his touch was poor and the ball went out of bounds. Opportunity wasted.

The response? Jeering and frustration from a crowd that saw the expensive Welshman waste one opportunity after another.

It was a stark contrast to Bale's work from last season where his relentlessness was eventually rewarded in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League final.

But on this night, he earned the label of scapegoat as a man given the chance at redemption and simply being unable to capitalize.

And Bale knew it after the game. But refused to acknowledge any sense of defeat.

"There have been some ups and downs but personally I think I've played well. I've maybe not scored as many important chances as I'd like but my general play has been good," stated Bale according to ESPN. "My finishing is not as good and that's something to work on for next year.

"What doesn't kill me makes me stronger and I'll learn from this season and take it on."

The question of course is where he is next season. Real Madrid's fans have often resorted to pinning defeats on him and there can be no doubt that despite decent stats, this purchase is looking like a bust when compared with Neymar's arrival at Madrid.

A year ago, the word on the street was that Bale had delivered where Neymar had failed. Now the tables have turned to the point where Neymar is a 38-goal scorer while Bale, who put up 21 for Madrid a year ago, could not come close to that total in his second go-around.

Will he stay or will he go? That will be the main point of discussion for the rest of the summer until something does happen.