Cristiano Ronaldo’s Late Strike Lifts Real Madrid To El Clasico Triumph (Video)

The odds were stacked against Real Madrid in Saturday’s showdown with Barcelona.

But in “El Clasico,” all bets are off, especially when two of the best players in the world are on the field.

This time it was Cristiano Ronaldo, not Lionel Messi, who played the role of hero. With the two La Liga (Spanish first division) rivals tied at Nou Camp with under 10 minutes to play, the Real Madrid striker corralled a Gareth Bale cross and buried it into the net for the deciding goal in the 85th minute.

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Real Madrid’s 2-1 win snapped Barcelona’s 39-game home winning streak and helped keep its La Liga hopes alive, as the club now trails second-place Atletico Madrid by just one point with 69 points. Barcelona remains in first with 76 points.

The home team got on the board first, with Gerard Pique opening the scoring for Barca in the 56th minute. But Real battled all the way back, getting the equalizer from Karim Benzema in the 62nd minute to set up Ronaldo’s heroics.

Thumbnail photo via Manu Fernandez/Associated Press