Real Madrid win Champions League 3-1

Saturday 26 May 2018, Champions League final

Real Madrid 3       1 Liverpool

Benzema 51’           Mane 55’

Bale 64’, 83’

 

Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale’s bicycle kick highlighted and underpinned Spanish teams’s superiority and triumph over English teams in European finals winning the last seven   2006: Sevilla 4-0 Middlesbrough, 2006: Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal, 2009: Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United, 2010: Atletico 2-1 Fulham, 2011: Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United, 2016: Sevilla 3-1 Liverpool. 2018: Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool.

Gareth Bale scored on of European Football’s great goals to help Real Madrid 2-1 up after 64 minutes and overcome Liverpool and win 3-1 their third successive Champions League title as goalkeeper Loris Karius suffered a personal nightmare. Liverpool had already suffered the devastating blow of losing top scoring Mohamed Salah midway through the first half with a shoulder injury after a challenge with Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos when calamity struck for Karius. Six minutes after half-time the German threw the ball against Karim Benzema, as the ball rolled behind him into the net. Liverpool recovered from the shock to equalise through Sadio Mane before Gareth Bale scored his wonder goal and also fumbled Bale’s hopeful 30-yard shot behind him to seal Real’s win.

Sadio Mane is only the fourth African player to score in a European cup final.

The 33-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo who has scored 120 goals in the competition has helped Real Madrid to a 3-1 win over Liverpool in Kiev on Saturday night to win his fifth Champions League title.