Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale made history by becoming the first player to come off the bench and score twice in a Champions League final.
The Welshman was controversially picked as a substitute against Liverpool on Saturday evening, but came on to steal the show with two goals in the second half to help his club win the trophy.
Opta have confirmed this is the first time a player has done this in a Champions League or European Cup final, which confirms Bale’s place in the history books.
2 – Gareth Bale is the first player to come on as a sub and score twice in a Champions League/European Cup final. Impact. pic.twitter.com/Nk9wboiZEF
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) May 26, 2018
Many will question the wisdom of Zinedine Zidane continuing to leave him out of his starting line up in recent times after the quality he showed when he finally got on the pitch in Kiev.
The 28-year-old did not sound happy after the game as he admitted he needs to play more and suggested he’ll have to think about his future this summer.
Bale: “I need to be playing week-in-week-out…that hasn't happened this season.” #mufc [BT] pic.twitter.com/lsVhMGNRzD
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) May 26, 2018
Still, if Zidane had started him he wouldn’t have been able to claim this small piece of history, so every cloud, Gareth!