BREAKING: Real Madrid beats Liverpool to win UEFA Champions League: Highlights, live updates recap
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.
For the 13th time in history and by far most all time, Real Madrid is once again king of the Champions League. On Saturday, Los Blancos beat Liverpool 3-1 on an absolutely magical, baffling bicycle kick goal from Gareth Bale to win a third straight Champions League crown. Two very bad bloopers from Liverpool's goalkeeper also proved to be the difference.
It all happened in the second half, as Real took advantage of momentum in a match that saw Liverpool lose superstar Mohamed Salah to a shoulder injury in the first half. Real Madrid manager and legendary soccer figure Zinedine Zidane became the first manager to win three consecutive Champions League titles.
Real opened the scoring with Karim Benzema taking advantage of an stunning gaffe from Loris Karius in goal early in the second half, but Sadio Mane equalized moments later to give the Reds some life back. But it was all undone with Bale's knockout kick. Real added a late goal from Bale that was another gaffe from the goalkeeper.
Here's Benzema's opener on 51 minutes, which is just one of the most unbelievable goals in history:
But Liverpool fought back without Salah, grabbing the equalizer shortly after:
Here's the winner 64 minutes in, as Bale shows off his unbelievable agility:
And then, another gaffe for poor Karius:
Real hasn't lost a Champions League final since 1981, and they become the first team to win three in a row since Bayern Munich in the mid 70s.
Liverpool loses the final, loses Salah to injury finishes the season empty handed with one of their own suffering one of the most cruel fates in the sports, carrying guilt he may have a hard time letting go of for some time.
Relive the match with our live blog below:
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