HE'S THE SPECIAL RON Euro 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo proved he is the Bernabeu king in Lyon and Gareth Bale is only the prince

TAKE a bow Cristiano Ronaldo, let there be no doubt.

When it comes to being the King of Madrid there is only one winner.

In the biggest of occasions, when the pressure was really on, Ronaldo put Gareth Bale firmly in his place.

Two second half minutes was all it took, but with a goal and an assist the Portugal star settled the argument once and for all.

Ronaldo is the King. Bale, merely the prince of the Bernabeu.

That is not to diminish the qualities of Wales captain Bale. On the big stage, he stood tall, produced the goods and inspired a nation.

But when the chips were down it was his Real Madrid teammate who made the difference.

Ronaldo decided this semi-final. It was he who broke Welsh hearts and delivered for Portugal.

Coming into the game, perhaps it was Ronaldo who had already had the biggest impact on his side.

Not because Bale hadn’t made an impression on the tournament, but because Wales as a unit had excelled to such an extent it is hard for one man to shine out above another.

Portugal, on the other hand, had rarely impressed having made it through to the knockout stages without winning a game in normal time.

And without Ronaldo’s brilliance in the final group match against Hungary they would quite possibly have gone home after a fortnight.

With Aaron Ramsey absent through suspension, the onus was on Bale to shine and he shouldered responsibility well in the first half.

Surging runs down right and then left were the catalyst to get Wales going after a timid opening.

And then he exploded into action, sucking two players in just inside his own half before skipping away to run direct on goal.

It is a sight we have seen so many times, but on this occasion the finish was lacking, firing weakly on target when a stadium held their breath waiting for the ball to nestle into the top corner.

At least he was having an impact though. Ronaldo's only real contribution to a poor first half were over dramatic appeals for free-kicks.

Apart from the one moment when the pair went head to head in person as Bale drove past his Real teammate to cross where only a fine clearing header from Jose Fonte denied Andy King a goal.

In that defensive role, Ronaldo went missing, giving up on the run and then lambasting his teammates when the focus should have been on himself.

But he is not there to defend. He is there to make the difference at the other end - and he obliged.

Wales would have started the second half confident, comfortable in the way they had contained Portugal.

But with one majestic leap, Ronaldo stole the show - and equalled Michel Platini's Euro goal record of nine in the process.

You can work on defensive tactics all you want, but you cannot legislate for sheer athletic ability and technique.

Ronaldo's run was forceful, jump magnificent, and the header unstoppable.

Two minutes later, he made another telling impression as Portugal went two up.

Of course he mis-hit his shot that fell into the path of Nani, but had it not been Ronaldo on the ball then the Welsh defence would surely not have retreated as they did.

It's sometimes in the little details that top players make the difference. And so it was here.

Bale, knowing the game was surely up, at least stood tall.

He was everywhere in the 20 minutes after the double blow, coming deep to get on the ball, probing with passes.

But Portugal knew what was coming. They were happy to sit back, content that Bale as quarter-back was not Bale the destroyer.

et Bale refused to bow down to the inevitable.

Summoning the last reserves of courage he let fly with two fierce drives, the second of which dipped and swerved but just wouldn't go in.

Ronaldo could have made it three late on, but after rounding Wayne Hennessey he could only fire into the side netting.

It didn't matter though. His work was done.