Zinedine Zidane described Real Madrid's first half performance against Club Brugge on Tuesday as the worst he has ever seen after a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu left the Spanish side with it all to do in their Uefa Champions League group.
Following the 3-0 drubbing at Paris Saint-Germain in their opening Group A match, Madrid were expected to get their campaign back on track at home against a side not accustomed to major European Cup nights.
Instead, Belgian champions Brugge went in for the break with a deserved 2-0 lead thanks to a double from Emmanuel Bonaventure.
Real got back in the match in the 54th minute with a towering header from captain Sergio Ramos and Casemiro finally levelled with five minutes remaining with another headed goal, the comeback aided by Brugge being reduced to 10 men in the 84th minute when Ruud Vormer was sent off for two yellow cards.
The draw leaves Real bottom of Group A with one point after two games, while Brugge are second with have two. PSG are top with six after beating third-placed Galatasaray 1-0.
Nigerian forward Bonaventure stunned the Bernabeu by giving the Belgians the lead in the ninth minute, mis-controlling the ball and nudging it towards goal but somehow still beating Real keeper Thibaut Courtois to score.
Bonaventure struck again with another scrappy goal in the 39th minute, helped by a calamitous giveaway in midfield by 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric.
The forward lost his footing as he bore down on Courtois but still produced a stunning finish to lift the ball high into the net. The goal was initially ruled offside, then awarded after a VAR review.
Real's triple Champions League-winning manager Zinedine Zidane made a double change at halftime, bringing on goalkeeper Alphonse Areola for Courtois, whom he later said was feeling ill, and replacing Nacho, who was injured, with Marcelo.
Zidane was fiercely critical of his side for their first-half display but was happy with how they responded.
"It was a bad result but the reaction was good," he told a news conference. "We cannot be happy because we have never played as bad as we did in the opening 45 minutes. I'm pleased with how we reacted but not for only getting a point.
"The first goal we conceded was laughable. We started badly and we were not focused in the areas of the pitch where the opponent could cause us the most harm."
Real came back out after the interval with real intent but were almost punished a third time on the counterattack when Bonaventure raced down the left wing alone but was thwarted by Areola.
The home side finally got a goal back from Ramos, who returned from suspension after missing Real's defeat at PSG.
Bruges' nerves began to set in and Eden Hazard, Modric and Lucas Vazquez all missed the target for Real, while visiting captain Ruud Vormer was sent off for picking up two yellow cards in the space of six minutes.
Casemiro equalised for Real in the 85th minute with a header from a free kick awarded for Vormer's second foul, while both sides missed chances to find a winner in the closing stages of a gripping game.
