Real will now face hosts Al Ain in Saturday's final
Thursday 20 December 2018 07:29, UK
Gareth Bale's hat-trick helped Real Madrid book their place in Saturday's Club World Cup final with a 3-1 win over Japanese side Kashima Antlers.
The Wales international broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, finding space in the area before slotting home from a tight angle.
It took just 11 minutes in total for Bale to grab the match ball - scoring twice in the space of two minutes early in the second period (53, 55), before Shoma Doi grabbed a late consolation (78) for Kashima.
The victory means Real will now face hosts UAE's Al Ain at the weekend, after the UAE Pro League champions shocked Argentina's River Plate, winning 5-4 on penalties in Tuesday's semi-final encounter.
Clear favourites to lift a trophy, they have claimed in four of the past five years, the European champions started sluggishly in what was a repeat of the 2016 final.
But that all changed when Bale combined well with Marcelo before finding space and slotting home from a tight angle with a low, left-footed finish a minute before the interval.
The goal relaxed Santiago Solari's side for the second half with Bale showing his ruthlessness by exploiting a poor backpass from a Kashima defender to take the ball past 'keeper Kwoun Sun-tae and slot home to double Real's advantage.
Two minutes later the forward claimed his hat-trick as Marcelo once again turned provider, playing a delightful through ball which the forward connected well with a powerful left-footed drive.
With the game over as a contest, Kashima pulled a goal back but in truth tougher opponents will await Real Madrid this season.
