Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas had no problem with their 0-0 draw against Stoke City.
Tottenham threw everything at the visitors in the final stages, but Stoke lived up to their billing as one of the best defences around by shutting out Bale, Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe.
"Stoke have one of the best defences in Europe and they are very well organised. They don't make it easy for anyone," Villas-Boas said.
"We gave them a run for their money and our players tried very hard.
"Sometimes you try everything and the ball doesn't go in the back of the net. We had a go and I'm very pleased with the players."