Gareth Bale had received stinging criticism from the Spanish press and Madrid fans for his underwhelming displays in Ronaldo's absence in recent weeks as Real dropped points at home to Valencia and Levante.
Cristiano Ronaldo has now struck 12 times in his last six Champions League games.
Gareth Bale moved to the Spanish capital from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 for a then world record fee of 100.8 million euros.
Gareth Bale, who came on as a substitute on Saturday after three months on the sidelines, scored seven minutes from time as Real Madrid defeated Espanyol 2-0
Zinedine Zidane replaced Cristiano Ronaldo 18 minutes from full-time with Real Madrid leading 2-1
After three matches, Real Madrid lead La Liga standings with nine points and face Espanyol next, who are 15th with two points
Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick levelled the game in normal time before Alvaro Morata met James Rodriguez's cross deep into stoppage time to complete a dramatic fightback from Real Madrid
Spain's new coach Julien Lopetegui enjoyed a perfect competitive debut as Diego Costa, David Silva and Alvaro Morata all hit doubles in an 8-0 drubbing of Liechtenstein in Leon
Real Madrid currently top La Liga with two wins from two games. They are still missing Cristiano Ronaldo due to the knee ligament injury that forced him off during Portugal's Euro 2016 final victory over France
Cristiano Ronaldo received the accolade for the second time in his career after finishing ahead of Real team-mate Gareth Bale and Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann
Gareth Bale was the only member of the renowned 'BBC' forward line who was fit enough to play in Sunday's game, as Zinedine Zidane's team travelled to San Sebastian in the midst of an injury crisis, with five regular starters unable to make the squad
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a record-equalling ninth Euro championship as Portugal came one step closer to history by qualifying for the final
Wales, playing in their first international tournament after 58 years, put on a magnificent show in Euro 2016 as they bowed out of the tournament with a 2-0 loss to Portugal in the semi-final
Portugal defeated Wales 2-0 thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani to enter the Euro 2016 final. They will face the winner of France vs Germany.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani scored two quickfire goals in the early stages of the second half, as Portugal defeated Wales 2-0 in the first semi-final of Euro 2016 in Lyon. Portugal will face the winner of the Germany vs France semi-final in the title clash. Catch all the highlights of POR vs WAL here
Live streaming of Portugal vs Wales Euro 2016 semi-final match will be available on all digital platforms like web and mobile. This is the first competitive meeting between POR and WAL. Catch live action of POR vs WAL through NDTV live blog too
Gareth Bale and other Welsh football players paraded their children on the pitch after their round of 16 win against Northern Ireland and this has made UEFA unhappy
All eyes would be on Gareth Bale when Wales take on Portugal in the first semi-final of Euro 2016 on Wednesday (local time)
