Gareth Bale went from hero to zero during Real Madrid's 2-2 draw with Villarreal on Sunday night.

The Welshman, whose future has been one of the biggest talking points of the summer, scored a brace to rescue Zinedine Zidane's side from an embarrassing defeat.

However, he then got sent off in the dying moments of the game, picking up two yellow cards in two minutes.

You just couldn't write it.

Despite ending the night on a sour note, it's clear that Los Blancos still need Bale - and Zidane's statement from earlier this summer looks pretty silly now.

"If Bale leaves tomorrow, it'll be best for everyone," the manager said in late July.

"It isn't anything personal. The club is looking to sell him. I hope it's done soon, for his sake too."

Despite Zidane's words, with the European transfer window closing on Monday evening, it looks like the winger will be staying in Madrid after all.

And on Sunday night, Bale reached a milestone that should see fans get off his back for at least a little while.

With his brace against Villarreal, the Welshman has now scored as many goals for Los Blancos as club legend Ronaldo Nazario.

The pair have 104 goals each and given that he'll likely be at the Bernabeu for at least a few more months, Bale will almost certainly overtake the Brazilian legend.

Some will argue that the achievement isn't that impressive because it's taken him 234 games to reach the total, which is 57 more than Ronaldo.

But given the fact that Bale isn't a striker, scoring over a century of goals in seven seasons certainly isn't a bad return.

Yet, it seems supporters will never see him in the same light as Ronaldo, despite matching his goal record.

Football fans are a strange bunch, aren't they?

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