’s Welsh wing wizard Gareth Bale today praised his teammates for the win against Aston Villa on Boxing Day, as reported by Sky Sports.

The Premier League clash at Villa Park saw Spurs dominate possession in the first half as they failed to break the deadlock before half time.

Bale acknowledged his team’s difficulty at finding the opening goal and commented on two very contrasting 45-minutes. The Welshman noted that, "The most important thing was that we got the three points. We created a lot of chances and controlled the game in the first half, probably better than the second half when we scored the goals.”

Jermain Defoe claimed the opener, taking his Premier League tally to 10 goals. Bale then rounded the goalkeeper in a solo effort, making it 2-0 to Spurs. His second and third goals both came from runs through the middle where Bale’s teammates found the winger in space before he calmly slotted home, making it 3-0 and 4-0 respectively.

"It was great to get the hat-trick, my first in the Premier League, but I couldn't have done it without the lads. It was a great team performance,” said Bale.

"It was crucial we got the first goal and the sooner the better. That showed when we scored. In the end, we won quite comfortably.

"It was a frustrating but I always believed - as the manager said - that if we kept playing like we were playing, the goals would come."

Manager Andre Villas-Boas added his opinion on the winger’s positional ability and eye for goal, noting that “[Gareth’s] finishing is very accurate, he's been prolific in front of goal this season, so I think he's enjoying getting into those positions."

Teammate Jan Vertonghen also saved a few words for Bale, reminding us “His left foot is lethal.” The Belgian then went onto say “There were good assists in there as well but you know if he’s in front of goal with his left foot it’s 80 per cent a goal."