Was it a penalty? Decide for yourself if Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo 'stole' a La Liga victory over Elche

The Spanish giants were awarded a controversial penalty in the 96th minute

Cristiano Ronaldo pictured in the 2-1 win over Elche (GETTY IMAGES)

Real Madrid sneaked a 2-1 win over newly promoted Elche in controversial circumstances last night.

Trailing 1-0 from Cristiano Ronaldo's low free-kick, the comparative minnows looked to have recorded a famous draw when Richmond Boakye headed in a 91st-minute equaliser.

But with just seconds on the clock, Carlo Ancelotti's side were awarded a penalty after Carlos Sanchez was judged to have pulled down Pepe. Ronaldo made no mistake in putting the spot-kick into the back of the net.

Yet the awarding of the penalty in the 96th minute caused huge anger from Elche, with their players surrounding the referee at the final whistle.

Elche's Edu Albacar said afterwards: "The match has been stolen from us. Anyone who watched the game can decide why Madrid won, it's very clear."

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique didn't help the situation either, taking to Twitter to label it comical: "Watching a great comedy on Canal + Liga.." he wrote.

But do you think it was a penalty? Watch the incident below...

The win keeps Real Madrid in touch with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid - both of whom have a 100 per cent record so far this season. Ancelotti's side can overtake their Madrid rivals when they face Atletico this weekend, but the Real Madrid boss warned: "Playing like that we will not win the derby - above all we have to play with more intensity and personality."