Zinedine Zidane's side trailed 2-1 but two late goals saw them make it 35 games without defeat and restore their six-point advantage at the top of La Liga
You couldn't make it up.
Once again in Real Madrid's hour of need, captain fantastic Sergio Ramos rose to the call as he powered home another stoppage time winner to help Real come from behind and set a new club record by stretching their unbeaten run to 35 games in all competitions.
Ramos's late show bailed out coach Zinedine Zidane's decision to make wholesale changes, including leaving out Cristiano Ronaldo, ahead of Real's trip to the Club World Cup in Japan this week.
Alvaro Morata's stunning strike from 25 yards opened the scoring early in the second-half.
However, the game swung Deportivo's way as on-loan Stoke forward Joselu struck twice in two minutes.
Youngster Mariano was summoned from the bench and continued his impressive form after a recent Copa del Rey hat-trick with a looping header into the far corner.
And with five minutes added on it was inevitable that just a week on from a stoppage time equaliser at the Camp Nou, Ramos would once again power home the winner to maintain Real's six-point La Liga lead over Barcelona.
1. Zidane gets away with gamble... just
Zidane ran a huge risk as, for the first time since May 2014, none of Ronaldo, Karim Benzema or the injured Gareth Bale started in La Liga.
Luka Modric was also left out of the squad completely, whilst Dani Carvajal, Marcelo, Mateo Kovacic and Lucas Vazquez were left on the bench with the demands of the Club World Cup in mind.
After an almost flawless first year in senior management, Zidane looked set to finally in the firing line.
Instead his gamble paid off at the death.
2. Joselu can do it at the Bernabeu
He failed to cut it at Stoke City, but the on-loan Joselu struck his first two goals since returning to Spain to prove definitively he can do it on a cold December night at the Bernabeu.
His first finish in particular was one to savour as he blasted home off the underside of the bar as Real protested furiously for a foul in the build-up.
Madrid hadn't regained their composure before Joselu pounced on more shambolic defending to squeeze the ball between the legs of Keylor Navas.
3. Ronaldo centre of attention even when he's not playing.
Zidane's decision to rest Ronaldo will de debated long into the night, not least by the Portugese himself given his disgruntled look high up in the VIP boxes of the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo ensured the cameras were still focused on him even when not on the pitch as he brought along new squeeze Georgina Rodriguez.
However, he cut an increasingly frustrated figure at not being able to as the game swung in Depor's favour.
4. Scrappy win fitting for record run
A run of 35 games unbeaten in all competitions is the longest in the club's storied history, yet Los Blancos still somehow fail to convince.
Amidst that run they have won an 11th European Cup and come away with four points from six in two trips to the Camp Nou.
Yet, only a 3-0 win at Atletico Madrid last month could be described as a complete performance.
Despite the understandable lack of fluency due to the changes, this was another scrappy win that has characterised a run stretching back to April.
5. Morata celebrates engagement in style
Morata popped the question to Italian model Alice Campello on Friday and came up with a big answer when Madrid needed one most early in the second-half.
Morata had looked off the pace in a turgid first-half on his first start for a month after a hamstring injury.
However, all was forgiven when out of nowhere he spun to smash the ball home from outside the area for his ninth goal of the season.
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