Forget Ronaldo, Bale is the Real danger in Kiev

NEVER mind Jurgen Klopp losing his last five finals and don’t fall for this about Real Madrid being a great team on its last legs.

As much as I would dearly love to see Liverpool fly the flag and win the European Cup a sixth time, they must beware of the “enemy” within.

For all the British virtues of a side containing Jordan Henderson, Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, James Milner and Adam Lallana, the one Brit who might make the difference at the Champions League Final could be wearing white, not red, in Kiev.

Gareth Bale has already won the trophy three times in four years and he has finished the season in sensational form – even if Real Madrid trailed home 17 points behind La Liga winners Barcelona.

Time and again, since he became the world’s most expensive player in 2013, he has risen to the big occasion for his club and Wales.

Much of the focus will be on how Liverpool can stop Cristiano Ronaldo but I am also concerned about how much damage Bale could inflict from anywhere across the frontline.

It should be of little comfort to the Kop that only one of Bale’s 175 career goals has been scored against the Reds.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Manchester United becoming the first English club to win the European Cup, how ironic we should be concerned about a Brit denying Liverpool their 12th triumph in Europe.

Bale is not a certain starter for Real but I would be amazed if Real coach Zinedine Zidane did not turn to him at some stage.

And I would not be surprised if this final was a classic. But even if Liverpool win, it doesn’t make them the best team in Europe.

I will still have them down as only third favourites for the title next season behind both Manchester clubs.

● Steve Bruce has had an unimaginably horrendous year, losing both his parents in the space of three months.

And if Aston Villa’s Championship play-off against Fulham was governed by sentiment alone, most folk would hand him a ticket to the Premier League now.

It would be a

Time and again Bale has risen to the big occasion for his club and Wales

remarkable achievement – his fifth promotion to the top flight. Villa’s experience and know-how may just be decisive at Wembley.

● Among all the contenders for Manager of the Year, one has slipped under the radar. How many people had Shrewsbury down to make two trips to Wembley this season?

Whether they go up at the expense of his old club Rotherham or not in the League One play-off final, Paul Hurst has done an incredible job at Shrewsbury. He is destined to manage higher up the scale. OUR TOP WRITERS GIVE THEIR FEARLESS VERDICTS EVERY DAY IN RECORD SPORT