Bale’s Double Wins Third Straight Champions League For Real
Gareth Bale scored twice including an incredible overhead kick after coming off the bench as Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final in Kiev on Saturday.
Karim Benzema struck a bizarre opening goal on 51 minutes before Liverpool, who lost leading scorer Mohamed Salah to injury in the first half, replied through Sadio Mane.
Bale replaced Isco on the hour and connected with an outrageous acrobatic effort on 64 minutes to put Real back in front.
The Welshman sealed a record-extending 13th European Cup title for Real with seven minutes left as a dreadful mistake from Loris Karius allowed his long-range shot to find the net.
Liverpool’s hopes of landing a sixth European Cup were landed a huge blow as 44-goal top-scorer Mohamed Salah was forced off with a shoulder injury after just 30 minutes of Saturday’s Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Egyptian winger Salah, who has won a plethora of individual awards for his performances in his debut season at Anfield, was in tears as he left the field to be replaced by Adam Lallana.
With the match still goalless, Salah fell to the floor writhing in pain after his left shoulder got caught underneath Real captain Sergio Ramos as they fell to the floor in midfield.
Salah could now be a doubt for the World Cup in Russia with Egypt’s opening game against Uruguay less than three weeks away.
Lallana has endured an injury-ravaged season himself, making just one Premier League start, to miss out on England’s World Cup squad. Madrid also suffered an injury blow minutes after Salah’s departure as Dani Carvajal also left the field in tears after pulling up with a muscle injury to make way for Nacho.
