VALENCIA: Gareth Bale filled the void left by the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, racing away to score a stunning individual goal five minutes from time to seal Real Madrid’s 19th Copa del Rey title after a riveting 2-1 win over arch-rivals Barcelona at the Mestalla on Wednesday.

Ronaldo’s extra-time play gave Real the 2011 Copa del Rey title at Barca’s expense but in his absence Wales winger Bale, who joined Real for a world record fee in the close season, galloped down the left wing from inside his own half into the penalty area before prodding the ball between the legs of Jose Manuel Pinto.

“It is difficult to see a player be able to sprint like that at that stage of the game,” Barca coach Gerardo Martino said. “The game was going our way after we had levelled, until that counterattack.”

Angel Di Maria had put Real ahead in the 11th minute in the 228th meeting between the two sides when he raced onto Karim Benzema’s through ball to finish off a swift break with a low shot that Pinto could only palm into the net.

Defender Marc Bartra equalised against the run of play in the 67th by heading in from a corner kick to ruin goalkeeper Iker Casillas’ record run of not conceding in this edition of the tournament.

The goal appeared to energise Barca, sparking Lionel Messi into action and ensuring the last 15 minutes became a frenetic back-and-forth contest.

But with the game hanging in the balance, Bale got the winner when he sprinted down the left side of the pitch, even running out of bounds to avoid Bartra who was left in his as he sealed his first trophy as a Real player.

“It was definetely his most important goal for Madrid,” Real boss Carlo Ancelotti said of Bale’s winner. “It was the defining moment in the game.”

After Bale struck, Barca had a chance to send the match into extra time in the 89th minute when Neymar, the Catalan club’s marquee signing of the close season, found space in the area but his stabbed effort crashed back off a post when he had the goal at his mercy.

“It almost scared us to death,” Real captain Iker Casillas said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster TVE. “Fortune was on our side, and we are thankful for it.

“I think the team played a fabulous match tonight in a very entertaining game. We are happy for all the fans who came here to Valencia tonight. Now we have to enjoy this moment and think about the league and the Champions League.”

Real still have a chance of becoming only the second team after Barca in 2009 to win a treble of La Liga, Champions League and King’s Cup titles. They are second in the domestic league, three points behind leaders Atletico Madrid with five games left, and play holders Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition this month.

The loss is a setback for Barca and a major blow to Martino.

In an eight-day span, Barcelona exited Europe’s top-tier competition with a loss to Atletico, slipped to third place in La Liga, and then lost the Copa del Rey to their fiercest rivals.

“Obviously it is not a happy moment. It has been a very hard week for us, but there is nothing else we can do but look ahead to what remains in the league,” Martino said.

Barca will now have to catch both Real and Atletico with only five rounds left in La Liga to make sure they don’t end the season without a major piece of silverware for the first time since the arrival of Pep Guardiola in 2008-09.