Gareth Bale’s inch-perfect bicycle kick and Loris Karius’ goalkeeping blunders helped Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 and win a 13th Champions League title.
A crazy, unbelievable goal. An incredible bicycle goal. A brilliant long-range goal. Gareth Bale scored two top-class goals after coming off the bench as Real Madrid won the tournament, beating Liverpool 3-1 in the final in Kiev.
Substitute Bale, who also scored in Real’s 2014 final win over Atletico Madrid, had only been on the pitch for three minutes when he rose to meet Marcelo’s cross in the air from outside the box, sending it flying into the net to restore Real’s lead in the 64th minute at the NSC Olympic Stadium.
Watch: Top 5 goals of Mohamed Salah for Liverpool Player of the season
French forward Karim Benzema had put Madrid ahead in the 51st minute by sticking out a leg as Liverpool’s German keeper Karius attempted to throw the ball to a team mate, sending it trickling over the line, but Sadio Mane levelled from close range in the 55th for Juergen Klopp’s side.
Bale then sealed Madrid’s record-extending 13th European Cup win and piled more misery on Karius with a long-range strike in the 83rd minute which went straight through the hands of the hapless goalkeeper.
https://twitter.com/IanWright0/status/1000490398089990145
Real become the first side since Bayern Munich in 1976 to win the trophy three years in a row and Zinedine Zidane the is the first coach to win three back-to-back titles.
Liverpool’s talismanic forward Mohamed Salah was forced off in the first half with a suspected dislocated shoulder after tangling with Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, while Real defender Dani Carvajal also left the pitch in tears after getting injured before halftime.
Gareth Bale was brought on for Isco in the 61st minute and three minutes was sliding down the pitch. In between that time, he rose magnificently with his back to goal to meet the ball with an overhead kick and send it past Karius. Bale then made it worse and effectively ended the match when he lasered a shot from a long way outside the box straight to Karius and the ball bounced out of the keeper’s hands, over his shoulder and into goal.
WATCH: How Real Madrid won their 13th Champions League title
Conversations on social media have revolved around Bale’s goal, Karius’ howlers and whether Sergio Ramos intentionally injured Mo Salah or not.
https://twitter.com/Joey7Barton/status/1000486644980551681
https://twitter.com/ImRo45/status/1000476689401434112
https://twitter.com/RanveerOfficial/status/1000469439710560257
Gareth wins it for Real Madrid with a wonder goal and a howler. Surely any club would pay the Bale now.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) May 26, 2018
Leave a Reply