The man who has been booed, whistled, and shunned at times by the Real Madrid faithful came up big and won the club their 13th Champions League title on Saturday night. It wasn’t Cristiano Ronaldo who was the hero against Liverpool, it was Gareth Bale.
It came as a bit of a shock that the Welsh forward did not make the starting XI for Zinedine Zidane after playing so well in the final few games of the La Liga season. Instead of dispatching Bale on the right side of the front line in a 4-3-3 formation, Zizou elected to go with the lineup that won the 2017 Champions League Final against Juventus.
Before that match, Bale had been suffering from a muscle problem and was not 100 percent fit to start. But, realizing the team needed some extra width and attacking power just past the hour mark, the French manager brought Gareth off the bench.
It took him just over two minutes to make his mark on the game and to put his team in front with one of the best UCL Final goals you will ever see. Drifting into the middle of the box along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Bale whipped his left leg onto the end of a low, but perfect, cross from fullback Marcelo.
ARE YOU SERIOUS! Gareth Bale scores one of the best goals you'll EVER see to give Real Madrid a 2-1 lead! #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/SCqFozk6qx
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 26, 2018
Not only was the goal jaw-droppingly amazing, it would ultimately be the game-winner for Real in what was a very competitive and close match in Kyiv. Realizing that CR7 was struggling to make a significant impact in the final third, Bale took over.
Like we saw in the 2014 Final in Lisbon against Atletico Madrid, Bale’s speed and awareness resulted in the winning goal and one that Madridistas will talk about for years to come. Don’t let the injuries to Mohamed Salah and Dani Carvajal, plus the two horrible mistakes from Liverpool goalkeeperLoris Karius overshadow what Bale did.
The first goal is one of the best the football world has ever seen and managed to be more spectacular than those of his manager in the UCL Final back in 2002, and the bicycle kick from Cristiano Ronaldo against Juventus in the quarterfinal this season.
In the biggest competition with so many people doubting his ability, Gareth Bale answered the call and single handily won Real Madrid their 13th UCL title.
Next: Real Madrid triumphant for the 13th time
After his showing in this match to go along with his incredible run of form in the last two months of the season, Real Madrid need to do everything in their power to keep this goal scoring machine around.
Gareth is a world-class player and he showed us all again why he was such an expensive player to acquire five years ago.
Stay tuned to The Real Champs for more Champions League Final coverage!