Cristiano Ronaldo may have lost some speed on account of age but he has not lost the ability to be a headliner.

Real Madrid were in the throes of defeat before their talisman scored two goals in four minutes to end the match at 3-3.

With just that point, Real slipped behind their eternal rivals, Barcelona, who hammered Sporting Gijon 6-1 after which manager Luis Enrique announced that he would be stepping down from the job come the end of the season.

Los Blancos had to accomplish the draw the hard way as Gareth Bale was sent off two minutes into the second half as a red mist descended on the Wales star. He was initially shown a yellow card by referee David Borbalan for a kick out at Jonathan Viera but was then shown a straight red card for lifting his hand to the Las Palmas playmaker.

Zinedine Zidan’s men then lost the plot as Sergio Ramos handed the Islanders a penalty before Keylor Navas completely misjudged a ball to allow Kevin Prince Boateng score his team’s third at Santiago Bernebeu.

Real were awarded another controversial penalty on 85 minutes, which Ronaldo converted. He then powered a header past Javi Varas in the 89th minute to rescue a point for the deposed table leaders.

Real still have a game in hand (against Celta Vigo) and all they can do if they win the match is go two points ahead of Barcelona. This scenario now makes the second edition of this season’s El Clasico on April 23rd a dicey encounter for both clubs as Real seek a first league title in five years.