England midfielder Jude Bellingham was left with blood streaming down his face during the second half of a painful evening at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
The Real Madrid number eight and his team slumped to a damaging 2-0 home defeat against Celta Vigo.
The incident occurred when Bellingham collided with opposition striker Borja Iglesias.
As the pair contested possession, Iglesias caught Bellingham with an unintentional elbow strike just beneath his right eyebrow.
The wound immediately began bleeding heavily, forcing the 21-year-old to leave the field for medical attention from Real Madrid's staff on the touchline.
It proved a miserable night for the midfielder as his side's title hopes suffered a significant blow.
Upon returning to the pitch after receiving treatment, Bellingham found himself in further trouble with the match officials.
The referee promptly showed the midfielder a yellow card for re-entering the field of play without first obtaining permission to do so.
England midfielder Jude Bellingham was left with blood streaming down his face
|REUTERS
It was a harsh additional punishment for a player who had just been patched up following a nasty head wound.
The booking added insult to injury on what was already proving to be a thoroughly frustrating evening for the former Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund star at his home ground.
The chaos at the Bernabeu intensified shortly after Bellingham's booking when left-back Fran Garcia was dismissed in extraordinary circumstances.
The 26-year-old defender committed two fouls in rapid succession, collecting a pair of yellow cards within just sixty seconds of each other.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
The Real Madrid number eight and his team slumped to a damaging 2-0 home defeat against Celta Vigo
|REUTERS
Manager Xabi Alonso was visibly furious on the touchline, with Spanish publication Marca reporting that he shouted "Fran, don't mess with me!" from the technical area.
Down to 10 men, Real Madrid were unable to find a route back into the contest.
Their evening deteriorated further in stoppage time when fellow left-back Alvaro Carreras also received his marching orders after picking up a second caution, leaving the hosts with just nine players on the pitch.
Swedish striker Williot Swedberg proved the difference for the visitors, netting both goals to secure Celta Vigo's first league victory over Real Madrid since May 2014.
The incident occurred when Bellingham collided with opposition striker Borja Iglesias
|REUTERS
The 21-year-old opened the scoring in spectacular fashion on 54 minutes, back-heeling Bryan Zaragoza's low cross past Thibaut Courtois.
He completed his brace deep into added time, playing a slick one-two before rounding the goalkeeper and walking the ball into an empty net.
The result leaves Real Madrid trailing Barcelona by four points in La Liga, having won just one of their last five league fixtures.
Injured Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold watched the collapse unfold from the stands.
Real Madrid received a third red card when a staff member was sent off on a night to forget.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter