The 2017–18 season saw some improvement in Bale’s goalscoring record across the league, cup competitions, and in the Champions League. He featured in Real Madrid’s victories in both the 2017 UEFA Super Cup and the 2017 Supercopa de España, and he also featured in the club’s victorious 2017 FIFA Club World Cup campaign, winning a third trophy before 2018 had even begun. In La Liga, he made 26 appearances and scored 16 goals but Real Madrid were unable to reclaim the title, finishing in third.
The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League competition saw Bale scoring once prior to the final. This goal came from the match against Borussia Dortmund in the group stages, when he opened the scoring in a 3–1 victory in Germany. In the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final, Bale scored two goals, first an overhead kick and then a long-distance strike, resulting in a 3–1 victory over Liverpool, to help Real Madrid win their thirteenth Champions League trophy. He became the first substitute to score twice in a Champions League final and was named man of the match.
Following the break-up of the BBC trifecta with Ronaldo’s transfer to Juventus, and the replacement of Zidane by new manager Julen Lopetegui, Bale was ever-present during August 2018, and was awarded Cinco Estrellas Mahou for the Real Madrid Player of the Month, scoring against Getafe and Girona along the way.
On 19 December 2018, Bale scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over Kashima Antlers in the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup. He became the third player to score a hat-trick in a FIFA Club World Cup match after Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suárez. He also became the third player to score in three editions of the competition after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He was awarded the Golden Ball after Real Madrid won the competition by beating Al Ain FC 4–1 in the final.
On 9 February 2019, Bale scored his 100th goal for Real Madrid after scoring the team’s third goal as a substitute in a 3–1 away win over cross-city rivals Atlético Madrid; however, he was also the source of controversy in the media following the match, due to the “provocative” goal celebration that he made towards the opposition fans.
