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Tag: Gareth Bale

  • Bale double secures Madrid three consecutive Champions League final victory

    Real Madrid defeat Liverpool 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League final in Kiev on Saturday.

    Madrid won their third straight Champions League thanks to a moment of sublime brilliance from Gareth Bale and Loris Karius’ errors.]
    Gareth Bale came off the bench to score one of the great goals in Champions League history and add to Loris Karius’ personal ordeal by sealing Real Madrid’s third consecutive European title with a 3-1 win over Liverpool.

    Much of the pre-match build-up centred on the anticipated battle between star forwards Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo in Kiev, but the duel was cut short before the half hour when Liverpool’s talisman suffered an apparent shoulder injury.

    The 25-year-old landed awkwardly on his left shoulder after grappling with Sergio Ramos and Ronaldo remained on the periphery throughout.

    Step forward Bale.

    With the game locked at 1-1 in the 64th minute and 122 seconds after replacing Isco – who earlier hit the crossbar – Bale scored and overhead kick of rare brilliance.

    The opening goal six minutes into the second half was as farcical as the winner was fabulous – Karim Benzema the beneficiary of goalkeeping incompetence from Karius, much like he was against Bayern Munich and Sven Ulreich in the semi-finals.

    Sadio Mane found a swift response for Liverpool but Bale, benched frequently on the big occasions this term, had other ideas.

    Karius had no chance on that occasion but seven minutes from time he pushed the Welshman’s speculative drive tamely into his net, confirming Madrid as European champions for the 13th time in their illustrious history.

  • Real Madrid labour to beat Leganes without Ronaldo, Ramos

    Real Madrid beat Leganes 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday after coach Zinedine Zidane heavily rotated his side in preparation for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich.

    Notably among others left out of the squad were captain Sergio Ramos and top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

    Wales forward Gareth Bale produced an acrobatic finish from close range on the volley to put Madrid ahead against their neighbours in the eighth minute of the game.

    This was after he narrowly beat the offside trap in spite of protests from the visiting players.

    Borja Mayoral doubled their lead right at the end of the first half by stabbing in from a metre out.

    Again, Leganes appealed for offside, but the goal was eventually allowed to stand after the referee consulted with his assistant.

    Leganes were unfortunate to go two goals down at the interval after coming close to scoring on three occasions, including Watford loanee Nordin Amrabat striking the crossbar.

    They eventually pulled a goal back in the 66th minute when Darko Brasanac knocked a cutback from Amrabat into an empty net.

    Leganes forward Gabriel was sent off after the final whistle.

    This was for reacting furiously to the referee for ending the game just as he was shaping to shoot at goal from outside the area.

    Real are third in the league on 71 points, 12 behind runaway leaders FC Barcelona and one behind second-placed Atletico Madrid.

    Atletico visit Alaves on Sunday while Barca play at Deportivo La Coruna, where a point will see the Catalans become Liga champions for a 25th time.

    Zidane excluded Ronaldo, captain Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane from the squad and left Luka Modric, goalkeeper Keylor Navas and influential left back Marcelo on the bench.

    He later brought on midfielder Toni Kroos and winger Marco Asensio, who scored the winning goal in the 2-1 victory at Bayern in Wednesday’s first leg.

  • Gareth Bale unseats Beckham as Briton with most games in La Liga

    Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale on Saturday overtook David Beckham as the British player with the most appearances in La Liga.

    The Wales forward marked the occasion by scoring the opening goal in his side’s 3-1 win over Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu.

    He struck his 62nd league goal for Real in his 117th appearance in Spain’s top flight.

    Bale pounced on a loose ball in the area to hammer home with his left foot in the 24th minute, for his eighth league goal this campaign.

    Cristiano Ronaldo scored Real’s other goals either side of halftime as the double Champions League holders warmed up for their last-16 second leg away to Paris St Germain next Tuesday.

    Last year Bale overtook former FC Barcelona forward Gary Lineker as the British forward with the most goals in La Liga.

    He has now surpassed the number of games former England captain Beckham played for Real between 2003 and 2007.

    Bale joined Real for a then world-record 85.5 million pounds in September 2013 and has won three Champions Leagues, one Liga title and one King’s Cup.

    However, his spell in Spain has been peppered with injury problems.

  • UCL: Gareth Bale set to miss Tottenham reunion

    Gareth Bale will not be reunited with Tottenham in the Champions League after missing out on a place in Real Madrid’s travelling squad.

     

    The Wales international is back in training but is not yet fit enough to return to Zinedine Zidane’s team for the Champions League clash against Tottenham at Wembley.

     

    The Los Blancos have named a 19-man party for the midweek clash at Wembley Stadium.

     

    Bale had been hoping to make the cut, allowing him to face his former club, but he has only been able to return to light training ahead of the contest.

     

    Zinedine Zidane has been forced to overlook him as a result, but Isco does make the grade after shaking off a knock which kept him out of training on Monday.