On This Day: Bale owned Bartra down the line to win the Copa del Rey final

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (April 16th) in football history. If you have more stories and news that happened on this day in history, feel free to post them in the comment area and share them with AFers!

On this day in 2014, Bale owned Bartra down the line to win the Copa del Rey final

In the 2014 Copa del Rey final, Real Madrid faced eternal rivals Barcelona and the game looked destined to end 1-1; that is, until the 85th minute.Barcelona looked tight and compact until Gareth Bale picked up the ball on the left, still some distance from even a threatening position.

The Welshman found a burst of energy and extraordinary power, charging down the wing and beating Bartra right out on the touchline before charging down on Pinto's goal and slotting the ball through his legs to deliver the trophy for Los Blancos.That was, without doubt, Bale's best individual moment since arriving in Madrid and one that Bartra won't have forgotten.

On this day in 1977, Former Arsenal star midfielder Freddie Ljungberg was born

At Arsenal, Ljungberg quickly established himself as a fan favorite due to his frenetic style of play that helped the club to two league titles (2002, 2004) and three FA Cups (2002, 2003, 2005). While there, he signed as an underwear model with Calvin Klein, serving as the face of one of their most successful ad campaigns.

Internationally, he made 75 appearances for Sweden between 1998 and 2008, playing in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. He captained the team for their Euro 2008 campaign and drew praise as their best player on the tournament despite their early exit.

On this day in 1960, Former Madrid & Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was born

Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff from 1986 to 1994, working at first with the reserve squads, then advancing to assistant manager for the first team. After the 1993-94 season, he left Real to become manager of Real Valladolid in the Primera División, but was sacked after winning only two of his first 23 matches in charge.

Benítez's fortunes soon turned, however, as the peripatetic coach led both C.F. Extremadura (1997-99) and C.D. Tenerife (2000-01) to promotion to the Primera División. In 2001, he moved to Valencia C.F., where he won La Liga twice (in 2002 and 2004) and the UEFA Cup (2004).

After his double-winning season in 2004, Benítez resigned from Valencia over disagreements with the sporting director and moved to Liverpool for the 2004-05 season. He led them to immediate success by winning the 2005 UEFA Champions League, followed shortly after by the FA Cup trophy in 2006.

On this day in 1905, Liverpool secured their second league title

Liverpool won their first league title in 1901, but three seasons later, they finished the season as the seventeenth-placed team out of eighteen and were relegated to the Second Division. But they returned at the first opportunity and were back in the top flight for the 1904-05 season.

Their return started poorly, with three losses in their first three matches. They turned things around quickly, however, winning twelve of their next fifteen to reach the top of the table by mid-December. Their good form continued into the second half of the season, with Preston North End in hot pursuit.

At the start of the day on 16 April, Preston were five points back with three games left to play. Liverpool were away to Bolton, where they lost 3-2. But fortunately for them, Preston also lost, falling 2-0 at Sunderland. That result put the title out of Preston's reach and made Liverpool the champions.

On this day in 2012, Wigan sunk Arsenal

Di Santo finished off a break and Gomez tapped in to give the Latics a 2-0 lead after eight minutes.

Thomas Vermaelen's header halved the deficit midway through the first half.

But Arsenal could not find another and wasted the chance to move eight points clear in third, while Wigan are five points above the relegation zone.

The Latics, who had only won back-to-back Premier League matches once before under Martinez, gave their survival hopes a major boost with a fourth win in five games and they have now lost just twice in 11 matches.