Gareth Bale scores in return from injury, and Real Madrid look scary

Saturday marked a moment Real Madrid fans had been waiting for since November. In the 71st minute of their match against Espanyol, Gareth Bale stepped onto the pitch, marking his return from a three-month-injury layoff.

It only took him 12 minutes to score this spectacular goal:

Bale has only been able to appear in 12 La Liga games this season, compared to 18 for Cristiano Ronaldo and 17 for Karim Benzema. They’ve all had injury issues, and none is the club’s appearance leader among forwards this season — that would be Lucas Vazquez, who has played in 19 of the club’s 21 league matches.

Madrid has missed other key players for multiple matches as well. Sergio Ramos and Luka Modrić each have just 13 league appearances this season, with Ramos sitting out on Saturday due to a minor knock.

Despite all of these injury troubles, Madrid might be the best team in the world this season. They’re on top of La Liga, and they’re better than every team in Europe by more advanced measures as well. By Expected Goals, they’re dominating their domestic opponents. Impressively, they just won 3-1 midweek against Napoli, the No. 3 team on this list:

Madrid has done this while having more injury problems than their small group of peers who are also considered to be challengers for the Champions League crown. They’ve only been able to play all of Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema, Modrić and Ramos together in about half of their games.

The difference between Madrid and Barca is so small that one major injury for either team could make the difference in the La Liga title race or the Champions League. The likes of Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Juventus have also proven that they’re more than good enough to spring an upset if everything’s not going perfectly for Spain’s big two.

But Bale’s return from injury and excellent performance in his first match back suggest that everything is coming together for Madrid at the right time. Ramos’ injury is reportedly minor, so Madrid should be able to get all of their superstars on the pitch at the same time in the next week or two. Meanwhile, all of Toni Kroos, Casemiro, and Raphäel Varane are having the best seasons of their careers and should only be helped by having more healthy world-class teammates around them.

There was a good argument to be made for Madrid being the best team in the world even when they weren’t healthy. Now that Bale is back, it’s up to everyone else to find the hole in their games. If it exists, it certainly isn’t obvious. This could be the most complete Real Madrid team in decades.