GARETH BALE produced one of the all-time classic Champions League final goals to help Real Madrid lift the famous old trophy for the third time in a row and the 13th time in all, but Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius played just as big a part in Liverpool’s eventual 3-1 defeat.

A surprisingly goalless first-half gave way to an absorbing second, as a colossal blunder by Karius gifted the opener to Karim Benzema, before Sadio Mane hit back for Liverpool. Super-sub Bale then produced his moment of magic, hooking an overhead kick into the top corner just two minutes after entering the field, before Karius almost topped his first howler by spilling a swerving Bale shot into his own net.

The stage had been set beforehand for either Cristiano Ronaldo or Mo Salah to be the men to make the difference, but it was Bale, so long frozen out of the starting eleven by Zinedine Zidane and rumoured to be on his way out of the Bernabeu, who was the hero of the hour. If this is to be his final bow in the famous white jersey, then what a way to go out.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had stuck with the same men who eventually wriggled clear of the challenge of Roma in the semi-final, with that potent front three of Mane, Roberto Firminho and the jewel in the crown, Salah, coiled and set to pounce.

Both of these sides finished miles off the pace in their domestic leagues, but they have excelled in Europe, and the clash between Jurgen Klopp’s heavy-metal, full-throttle Liverpool outfit and Zidane’s classy but anarchic Real Madrid superstars was a tantalising prospect.

From a Scottish perspective, of course, there was another interesting sub-plot in that Andy Robertson became the first man to compete in a Champions League final since Paul Lambert lifted the trophy with Borussia Dortmund in 1997.

Kiev is a long way from the Kop, but the Liverpool support seemed to outnumber the Real Madrid backing by at least two to one, and every touch from the men in white was greeted with a cacophony of jeers and whistles.

Spurred on by cries of ‘Allez Allez Allez’, it was Liverpool who came out of the traps quickest, but the start of the match was cagier than might have been expected given the attacking arsenals at the disposal of both sides.

The first real threat came from Liverpool, as a nicely worked move down the left saw the ball fed into Roberto Firminho in the area, who turned and got a shot away that was blocked by Sergio Ramos. Trent Alexander-Arnold followed up, but his angled drive was fielded superbly by Keilor Navas.

Just as things seemed to be going to plan for the English side, their Egyptian King Salah fell awkwardly under a Ramos challenge to injure his shoulder, and despite carrying on for a spell, the sight of him slumped to the turf in tears confirmed every Liverpool supporter’s worst fears.

It was a devastating curtain call to Salah’s wonderful season, and to Liverpool on the night.

It was almost Cristiano Ronaldo, a bit-part player throughout, who put his name up in lights once more though just before the interval. A lovely cross from Isco found him peeling off round the back of the Liverpool defence, but Karius was equal to his diving header. Karim Benzema tucked in the rebound, but the assistant referee’s flag was raised to Liverpool’s great relief. It was tight, but a right, call.

The Spaniards had taken a grip of the game now though as Liverpool reeled from the departure of Salah, and further efforts from Nacho and Benzema whistled just past before referee Milorad Mazic gave the English side the chance to retreat and regroup.

They were still all over the place though as they began the second half, with Alexander-Arnold and then Lallana failing to clear to gift-wrap a golden opportunity for Isco as he faced down Karius, but his effort over the keeper failed to come back down and it cannoned off the bar for a grateful Robertson to hoof clear.

Karius soon outdid the generosity of his teammates though and then some. A long ball over the top was easily collected by the Liverpool goalkeeper, but inexplicably, he lazily tried to toss the ball wide to Alexander-Arnold while seemingly oblivious to the close presence of Benzema, who simply stuck out a foot to block the ball and send it dribbling into the empty net.

It was a shambolic goal more fitting of the playground than the biggest game in world club football, and now serious questions were being asked of Liverpool’s character. They were answered immediately, and emphatically.

They sprung to the other end and won a corner from a vital Raphael Varane intervention on a wicked Robertson cross, and James Milner hung the ball up to the back post. Dejan Lovren wanted it more than anyone else, and his header back across goal was poked home by Mane to level things up.

At last, the game had bubbled into the contest everyone had expected it to be, and Bale then entered the fray to spice things up further. He didn’t take long to make his mark.

A cross into the box from Marcelo looked harmless enough, but Bale contorted his body in mid-air to produce an unbelievable overhead-kick that looped over the helpless Karius and into the net. Stunning.

The question now was what Liverpool could possibly have left, and Mane was desperately unlucky with a drilled effort from range that crashed off the bottom of the post.

Robertson saved a certain goal with a wonderful tackle on Ronaldo just as he was about to roll the ball home, but there was nothing anyone in red could do as a swerving Bale effort from range somehow evaded the grasp of Karius and dropped into the net.

A tearful Karius apologised to the Liverpool support after the game, as well he might, but it is Bale’s brilliance rather than the goalkeeper’s ineptitude that should be the abiding memory of this rivetting final.

REAL MADRID: Navas, Marcelo, Varane, Ramos, Carvajal (Nacho), Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, Isco (Bale), Ronaldo, Benzema (Asensio)

Scorers: Benzema, Bale x 2

LIVERPOOL: Karius, Robertson, Van Dijk, Lovren, Alexander-Arnold, Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Salah (Lallana), Mane, Firmino

Scorers: Mane