Welsh substitute Gareth Bale proved to be the hero for Real Madrid as he netted twice in the second half to give his side a 3rd successive UEFA Champions League (UCL) title with a 3-1 win over Liverpool in their final clash in Kiev.

The Reds goalkeeper had a game to forget as he gifted the Los Merengues the opening goal scored by Karim Benzema with six second half minutes on the clock before it was cancelled out by Sadio Mane’s close range finish.

Zinedine Zidane brought on the aforementioned Bale for Isco who had struck the crossbar very early in the second half when scores was still goalless and it paid instant dividends.

The Welsh forward produced a stunning overhead kick on 64 minutes to edge the holders 2-1 ahead before capitalising on another blunder by Karius to seal victory for his side in the last 10 minutes.

Mane struck the post with Liverpool trailing 2-1 but another Karius blunder sealed victory to give Real Madrid a 3rd successive UCL title.