Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off as Real Madrid won 2-1 at Cordoba.
Ronaldo was sent off for lashing out but Gareth Bale scored a late penalty to give a ragged Real Madrid side all three points from a 2-1 win at Cordoba.
The European champions fell behind to a penalty scored by Nabil Ghilas in only the second minute of the game but Karim Benzema levelled later on in the first half.
Cordoba had a number of chances to retake the lead in the second half but wasted them all, and Bale snatched the winner from 12 yards in the 88th minute after his free-kick was handled by Fede Cartabia, who was also sent off.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said: "The objective was to win all three points and stay top of La Liga. It was difficult but we did it. I did not enjoy the first half much and got annoyed a few times on the bench."
"Córdoba played very well. They fought for every ball and were very good on the break. We struggled in this game but the important thing was to take three points and we've done just that. I congratulate Córdoba for how well they played."