Gareth Bale said he was “living a dream” after helping Real Madrid strengthen their position as the most successful European Cup team in history by winning the competition for a 10th time.
Bale scored the second goal for Carlo Ancelotti’s team as they came from behind to beat Atlético Madrid 4-1 but he admitted the night could have ended badly for him after his three misses before Madrid scored. Sergio Ramos’s goal in stoppage time took the game into extra time and Bale headed them into the lead with five minutes to go.
“I’ve learned from past experience to keep going, forget about the chances you’ve missed and keep persevering,” he said. “Thankfully I got the decisive goal. It was great to see it go in. I came here to play in big competitions and win trophies. This is what every footballer dreams of and it doesn’t get any bigger in club football. Lifting that trophy is a feeling you can’t describe and it will be a memory I will never forget.”
Atlético had taken a first-half lead through Diego Godín’s header but Ramos’s header changed the entire complexion of the game and Bale’s goal was quickly followed by a third from the substitute Marcelo before Cristiano Ronaldo made it four from the penalty spot.
“Incredible, what can I say? It was our aim from the start of the season,” Ancelotti said after he moved alongside Liverpool’s Bob Paisley as the only manager in history to win this competition three times. “It was difficult but I think we deserved it in the end. Gareth was very important. He had chances earlier in the match and his shooting was not good but, at the right moment, he was ready to score. Not just tonight, but all season, he has been very good and I’m sure he will be even better next season.”
Bale, who also scored for Madrid in their Copa del Rey final victory against Barcelona, added: “We want to win more now. When that ball came over for my goal, I said to myself: ‘Do not miss, do not miss’. It was great to see it go in and the celebrations from the crowd showed how much it meant to them. It feels like we are living a dream. When we play our own football we win matches and it was just about attacking and keep doing what we do best. We believe in that and we believed if we kept doing it we would win.”
Ramos added: “I think we are all heroes, it is a team effort and we can all now celebrate together. We have lived through a lot together and then we had to wait until the final minute to equalise. Now Lisbon is our home. It is a reward for all of the sacrifice and the fight that we have shown over the years.”
Diego Simeone, the Atlético manager, was sent off after the fourth goal for clashing with the Madrid defender Raphaël Varane on the pitch in an unedifying end to the final.
“I’ve told our players they shouldn’t waste a single second being sad,” Simeone said. “They gave everything and we finish the season with nine and a half as our mark. It was just that extra half we were missing.”
“It was a sad moment, tragic when they got the 1-1,” said the Atlético midfielder Gabi. “They had few chances but they did better in extra time. We were very close but Madrid proved to be very strong.”
His team-mate Juanfran added: “We fought to the end but then Sergio Ramos caused problems with the goal. We will return. They won so they are the just winners but still we have won the league and got to the final of the Champions League.”
