8. Gareth Bale’s bicycle kick.
For Real Madrid’s third Champions league final appearance in as many seasons, the welsh wizard found himself warming the substitutes bench after a tumultuous season in the Spanish capital. Bale’s place in the team was scrutinized by both the fans and media on almost a daily basis, despite his impressive statistics throughout his tenure at the club.
With the game tied at 1-1, head coach Zinedine Zidane called on Bale on the hour mark, in an attempt to find a way past a resolute Liverpool team.
Within three minutes of his arrival Bale scored one of the finest goals in the competition’s history with a long range bicycle kick that defied the laws of gravity.
The crowd were almost stunned into silence as Bale showed that he is still a world class performer in every sense of the word with a goal that effectively won the match on the grandest stage possible.
He later rounded off his night with a second goal that Liverpool goalkeeper Lorius Karius wouldn’t want to remember anytime soon and with Real Madrid running out 3-1 victors they made history as the only team to win the European Cup three times in a row on two separate occasions.
For that they had to thank a certain Welshman who had been ostracized throughout the season by his own manager and fan base, yet all it took was 30 minutes for Gareth Bale to leave his indelible mark on the club and competition’s history.
SPORTS 25/8 