Having watched Barcelona put six past Sporting Gijon earlier in the night, Real Madrid knew they needed to win to keep their buffer of Messi his pals, but things did not go to plan despite a perfect start against Las Palmas.
Isco put the league leaders ahead inside 10 minutes, but Las Palmas refused to lie down and hit back with a quick equaliser and the scores remained level at the break.
Just two minutes into the second half, Gareth Bale had a moment of madness that saw him sent off and left his teammates facing an uphill battle. After having a few kicks at his opponent, he then reacted to a push and was shown two yellow cards one after the other.
Madness.
Now Gareth, if you fancy doing that in the Aviva Stadium in a few weeks then by all means go ahead. Preferably earlier in the match.
Madrid would slip to 3-1 down before mounting yet another dramatic late comeback, as two goals after the 86th minute from Cristiano Ronaldo would rescue a point that would leave Real one point behind Barca with a game in hand.
And as for hoping he loses it against Ireland next month, that was just the third red card of his career, so don't count on it.
