Only a few number of players will ever play in a Champions League final. In a Champions League final, fewer players will score. Fewer players will ever score an overhead kick in a Champions League final to help their team win.
In fact, the list has been whittled down to just one name: Gareth Bale.
The golfing Welshman has never been genuinely adored at Real Madrid, but he is one of the club's most powerful individuals. In 2018, he achieved his defining, culminating, and indisputable glory.
Los Blancos just made it through the quarter-finals and semi-finals of that season's Champions League, edging Juventus and Bayern Munich to the finish line.
In the showpiece event in Kyiv, they faced an unfancied Liverpool side. Jurgen Klopp had assembled an exceptional squad, led by the record-breaking Mohamed Salah, but this was not the all-conquering Liverpool of today.
Real Madrid appeared to be in control as Salah was forced off with a dislocated shoulder in the first half. They took the lead after a concussed Loris Karius threw the ball right into Karim Benzema's leg, but Sadio Mane's tap-in from a corner swiftly canceled it out.
With just over an hour remaining, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane substituted Bale for the unproductive Isco in an attempt to change the tide. Few impact substitutions could compare to this one.
The ex-Tottenham winger had made his imprint less than 90 seconds after coming on.
Marcelo was promptly closed down by Trent Alexander-Arnold after Casemiro's excellent chipped ball over the top of the Liverpool midfield. The Brazilian cut inside onto his weaker right foot, only to be pressed by Mane as well.
Marcelo instinctively crossed the ball to Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, who were practically holding hands in the penalty area (my old football coach used to teach us that if you were within a yard of a teammate in open play, you had to hold hands for the next minute to highlight how daft you were being).
Bale, who had cut inside and dodged Andy Robertson, was somewhat higher than that duo. Marcelo's cross was under-hit and would never reach either of Real's regular target players, so Bale decided that the best course of action was to attempt a daring overhead kick in less than a split second. It turned out to be one of the best decisions he'd ever made.
Ronaldo had scored in Real's run to Kyiv with a similar acrobatic effort, but this was even better. Even if Karius hadn't been concussed, he wouldn't have been able to get close to it.
Bale's strike soared up and over the German so quickly that the Welshman didn't have time to get back to his feet before it hit. Bale, who is known for his calm and confident demeanor, dashed out in celebration, performing a Jurgen Klinsmann-style dive to burn off the extra energy and adrenaline.
That was the blow that truly knocked the wind out of Liverpool's sails after battling their way back into the final. When Karius parried Bale's 30-yard shot into his own net, their hopes were dashed for good.
Bale's overhead kick, however, stands out in a final with so many significant incidents and storybook plots.
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