Spain’s Real Madrid has defeated Britain’s Liverpool, 3-1, in Ukraine to win Europe’s most prestigious soccer trophy, the Champions League cup.
Welsh striker Gareth Bale scored two wonder goals in Kyiv’s Olympiysky Stadium to earn Real Madrid the famed European soccer trophy for the third year running.
Although the first half of the May 26 final match was largely not noteworthy (except for two bitter injuries of Real Madrid and Liverpool footballers), the second half granted the 62,000 Olympiysky spectators four goals.
At the beginning of the second half, Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius made what may be one of the biggest mistakes in Champions League history, allowing French Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema to intersect the ball and score. In 4 minutes, however, Liverpool scored.
Then, at the 61st minute of the match, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane brought in Welsh superstar Bale, who scored twice, deciding the final in Real Madrid’s favor and leaving Liverpool empty-handed this season.
This is Real’s 13th UEFA cup. And today’s victory makes Real Madrid the fourth team to claim three successive European crowns – and the first to do it twice.
Liverpool and Real Madrid are two of Europe’s most famous football clubs. And this has been their first shared Champions League final since 1981.
Football fans came to Ukraine from all over the world to witness these two top-performing teams go head to head at Olympiysky Stadium, an arena built back in 1923, and most recently renovated in 2011 in preparation for the UEFA Euro 2012, co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland
This is the first time Ukraine’s capital has hosted the final match of the UEFA Champions League.
