What a run by Theo Hernandez! He charges forward down the left side and tries to tee a pass across for Bale to net his hat-trick but it's mishit.
87'
Real Madrid continue to give the ball away cheaply in defensive areas, which will leave the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala licking their lips ahead of the Juventus clash.
85'
I. Ezekiel enters the game and replaces Momo.
Final change of the game is a Las Palmas one, as Momo is replaced by Ezekiel.
84'
Corner for Las Palmas as Varane heads the ball behind, which Momo takes. It drops for Calleri around the penalty spot but it's smashed over the bar.
82'
Brilliant defending! Real Madrid hit on the counter and Vazquez feeds a through ball across the face of goal to Bale. Chasing his hat-trick, the stadium awaits the goal but superb defending from Castellano prevents the Welshman from securing the match ball.
80'
I have to say, I've been impressed with Las Palmas today. They've given it a good go and have been really positive, despite trailing by a fairly large margin now. Paco Jemez has plenty to be pleased with and he'll want the same sort of performance next weekend in the crucial relegation showdown with Levante.
78'
Certainly still room for Real Madrid to improve defensively, as they've given Las Palmas plenty of chances. A better side would make them pay and Zidane will hope these errors don't occur in the bigger games on the horizon.
76'
OFF THE BAR! Las Palmas continue to put Real Madrid under pressure defensively and Momo whips a superb ball into the middle, where Calleri heads an effort that bounces off the crossbar.
73'
Bale will certainly be chasing a hat-trick before the game finishes and it's perhaps a surprise that the Welshman will complete the full 90 minutes, given his injury history and the importance of the midweek clash with Juventus.
Minute
Description
71'
Final 20 minutes and Real Madrid fans will be pleased that this game has passed without any real problems, barring the first-half injury to Nacho.
69'
Looking back at that Benzema miss, you can see just how much confidence he lacks. You usually think that any goal, even if it's from the penalty spot, wipes that pressure away but it isn't the case with the Frenchman. It really does seem like the end is nigh for the long-serving striker with Real Madrid.
68'
CHANCE! Exposito puts Navas under plenty of pressure and wins the ball back but can't find the finish, firing over the bar.
67'
WHAT A MISS! A brilliant attacking move from Real Madrid finishes with Vazquez cutting the ball across goal to Benzema, who sees his first shot saved and then sees the rebound bonce off him.
66'
21-year-old Exposito has impressed since his introduction, looking very busy in the middle of the field and showing intent moving forward. Las Palmas will certainly look to him to provide inspiration as the season draws to a close.
64'
Real Madrid continue to ease their way through the game and have a corner, which Vazquez goes across to take. He plays it short, combining with Hernandez, and the move eventually breaks down.
62'
Marcos Llorente enters the game and replaces Casemiro.
Double change for Real Madrid with the Juventus game in mind, as Llorente replaces Casemiro.
61'
M. Kovačić enters the game and replaces L. Modrić.
Zinedine's final change is again in the heart of midfield, as Kovacic replaces his compatriot Modric.
60'
MISS! Benzema tries to cut the ball across for Bale for his hat-trick but overhits his pass. For some reason the Frenchman didn't go for goal and it's an opportunity wasted.
59'
Another save from Navas and another save that isn't too difficult. Calleri charges forward and cuts onto his right but doesn't connect with the ball as much as he'd like.
55'
A daunting final 35 minutes ahead for Las Palmas, who are now well off the pace. It all depends whether Real Madrid decide to take their foot off the gas as the game progresses, as they do of course have bigger challenges on their mind.
53'
Bale fouls Halilovic with a poor challenge and is very fortunate not to have his name taken.
51'
Ximo Navarro gets yellow.
Penalty goal scored by G. Bale for Real Madrid!
PENALTY! Ximo Navarro connects late with the Welshman and catches him but it's perhaps a bit harsh.
GOAL! No mistake from Bale as he doubles his tally for the night and continues his fine run of form, having netted a hat-trick during the international break for Wales.
Yellow for Navarro from his challenge.
49'
Halilovic tries to curl an effort into the bottom left-hand corner but Navas is equal to it. The Croatian is involved in everything positive that Las Palmas are showing and he's performing better since the restart. It looks like Las Palmas have switched to a three-man defence.
48'
Decent start for Las Palmas, with Halilovic shining after dropping into a more deeper role. However, the final ball is still lacking.
46'
Jairo Samperio enters the game and replaces Michel Macedo.
Erik Expósito enters the game and replaces Vicente Gómez.
The second change for Las Palmas sees Jairo introduced, in replace of Macedo.
First of a double change sees Vicente Gomez replaced by Exposito.
45' +4
Last action of the half as Modric swings to the far post, where Chichizola collects easily.
45' +2
Alejandro Gálvez gets yellow.
Las Palmas are losing their heads. A blatant foul from Galvez on Theo Hernandez, earning a deserved yellow card, and Real Madrid have a free-kick right on the edge of the box on the near side.
45' +1
THREE minutes of added time.
45'
KICK-OFF! Back underway in the Canary Islands, where Real Madrid get us started and now attack to the right.
43'
Real Madrid are cruising now, which is a shame considering the way Las Palmas entered the game. The hosts need some spark but Zidane's side are well in their stride and could further their advantage comfortably.
41'
Levante's point against Girona earlier today wasn't the result that Las Palmas wanted and they're falling short of reducing their seven point deficit. They wouldn't be expected to get anything from this game but that margin at this stage of the season makes things very bleak for the hosts.
39'
Penalty goal scored by K. Benzema for Real Madrid!
GOAL! Benzema marks his 400th Real Madrid appearance in the perfect fashion as he tucks a driven effort into the bottom left-hand corner.
38'
PENALTY! The cross comes in and, after knocking about for a bit, the ball falls to Vazquez. He falls to ground under pressure from Calleri and the linesman gives the decision, allowing Real Madrid to push into full control.
36'
Momo gets yellow.
Momo gets a yellow card after fouling Achraf, who's really stretched the play down the right.
35'
Bale's goal has really knocked the stuffing out of Las Palmas, who have looked dejected since falling behind. With so much to fight for this season they can't allow their heads to drop further.
33'
Dramatic fall from Theo Hernandez after he goes head-to-head with Macedo and we get a sight at the bench, where Nacho looks distraught and is in tears. It's not obvious where he picked up the issue or what the problem is but he's certainly not comfortable.
31'
We've seen so far that Las Palmas have the capability to cause Real Madrid problems but it remains to be seen whether they have the quality in the final third.
29'
A. Hakimi enters the game and replaces Nacho.
Big blow for Zidane's side as Nacho trots off to be replaced by Achraf, who gets a superb opportunity to make an impression.
28'
Relief more than anything from Real Madrid as they take a lead that, to be honest, isn't deserved. Interestingly, it looks like we're about to see an early substitution from Los Blancos.
26'
G. Bale has scored a goal for Real Madrid! Assist by L. Modrić.
Las Palmas are furious as they appeal for offside but it's a very tight call. Either way, a superb pass from Modric to unleash Bale.
GOAL! It's against the run of play but Real Madrid take the lead. Modric curls a through ball to Bale, who beats the offside trap and fires comfortably past Chichizola.
25'
What a miss! Excellent play from Las Palmas, who quickly ping passes around to find space but Momo's shot is very poor, dribbling wide of the mark.
24'
WHAT A SAVE! Real Madrid break with Benzema doing brilliantly to unleash Bale, who then cuts a pass across the box to Asensio. The whole stadium waits for the net to bulge but Chichizola gets a strong touch with his fingertips to put the ball behind for a corner.
22'
Aquilani does have big shoes to fill following Jonathan Viera's move to China and he hasn't quite shown his strengths so far. He's able to continue here though and takes to the field.
20'
Concern for the hosts as Aquilani is down needing treatment after looking groggy. He's getting a check over and Las Palmas need him for his creativity.
18'
The hosts again pile forward, finding space down the right, but it's well dealt with by the back line of Real Madrid. A slow start from Zidane's side and one that's unlikely to please the French boss.
16'
I'd go as far as saying Las Palmas have been the better of the two sides so far, they've come into the box firing and look dangerous.
14'
SAVE! Benzema is fed the ball inside the area and he strikes a fierce effort goalwards but Chichizola saves well with a strong hand.
13'
Both sides showing threat early on and Real Madrid know they have a game on their hands.
11'
SAVE! Las Palmas showing they're here to fight as they try again from distance, forcing Navas into a fine save down low on his left.
9'
Free-kick in a very dangerous position after Vazquez is fouled. It's Ronaldo territory but he's of course absent, so it falls to Bale and he smashes into the wall.
6'
CHANCE! It's almost first blood to Las Palmas! Gomez plays the ball in for Calleri, who looks up and strikes a low effort past the post. He appeals for a corner but it's not given.
3'
OFFSIDE! Bale puts the ball in the net but the offside flag was raised correctly. The Wales ace moved a fraction too early but it's a sign of things to come.
1'
KICK-OFF! We're underway at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, where the hosts get us started and attack to the right in the first half.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the La Liga clash between Las Palmas and Real Madrid, where both sides have pride to play for but have very different things at stake.
Sat third-bottom in La Liga, Las Palmas occupy the final relegation spot in Spain's top-flight and desperately need results to close the gap on the sides ahead of them. Seven points seperate the side from the Canary Islands from safety but it would take a famous result tonight to change that.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have whimpered in their defence of the league title and have had to endure Barcelona's dominance this term. To rub salt into the wounds, local rivals Atletico are also ahead of them in the standings but a win here would close that gap. Perhaps more importantly though, Los Blancos are just one point ahead of Valencia in fourth.
Las Palmas XI: Leandro Chichizola; Michel Macedo, Ximo Navarro, Alejandro Galvez, Matias Aguirregaray; Javi Castellano, Vicente Gomez; Alen Halilovic, Alberto Aquilani, Momo; Jonathan Calleri.
Las Palmas subs: Raul Lizoain, Benito Ramirez, Jairo Samperio, David Garcia, Imoh Ezekiel, David Simon.
Real Madrid subs: Kiko Casilla, Mateo Kovacic, Marcos Llorente, Alvaro Tejero, Borja Mayoral, Oscar Rodriguez, Achraf Hakimi.
Real Madrid XI: Keylor Navas; Nacho, Jesus Vallejo, Raphael Varane, Theo Hernandez; Lucas Vazquez, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Marco Asensio; Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale.
One change for Las Palmas following the 1-1 draw with Deportivo before the international break, with Galvez placed into the heart of defence in place of Garcia. The latter drops to the bench.
With one eye firmly placed on the Champions League showdown with Juventus this week, Zinedine Zidane makes four changes to his side. Casemiro, Modric, Vallejo and Bale all start in a strong side. However, it's a very inexperienced bench with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Toni Kroos and Sergio Ramos out of the squad.
HALF TIME! A slow start from Real Madrid initially but Zinedine Zidane's side soon showed their class. Luka Modric's superb ball through to Gareth Bale saw the Welshman fire home, before Karim Benzema marked his 400th appearance by slotting home from the spot after Lucas Vazquez was fouled by Jonathan Calleri.
Such a shame for Las Palmas, who came into the game storming and were the better side in the early exchanges. However, their lack of creativity and class in the final third showed, wasting some good opportunities before the European champions punished them. Seven points adrift of safety, this could be a damaging result.
Real Madrid weren't great to begin with but their class has shown in the end and Zidane will be hoping of an uneventful finish to the game, handing him the three points he's looking for before this week's crunch European tie with Juventus. Now two goals in the clear, we could see some more of the younger contingent called upon.
FULL TIME! Real Madrid avoid an upset in their trip to the Canary Islands, with Gareth Bale scoring a brace and Karim Benzema also finding the net from the spot. Zinedine Zidane rested a number of his heavy hitters and they've come out fighting, barring the loss of Nacho, but Las Palmas can also hold their heads high after a decent performance.
Las Palmas were aggressive, attacking and wanted to create chances, which they did, but they lacked the quality to finish things off. At the other end, their defence was undone by Real Madrid's stars but Jemez has plenty to be pleased about with his side. Next up is a crucial relegation fight against Levante.
Real Madrid's performance was certainly not perfect, particularly with their defensive possession, but they did what was required. Zidane had half a mind on this week's Champions League clash with Juventus and Gareth Bale has certainly proved his worth yet again. It kicks-off a huge week, as the Madrid derby against Atletico follows their trip to Turin.
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