Real Madrid vs. Levante, 2015 La Liga: Final score 2-0, Merengues dominate Clasico tuneup

Madrid almost scored several times in the opening minutes, with Bale blazing just wide and Cristiano Ronaldo hitting the post with a blistering strike. With Levante unable to cope with their hosts’ pace and quality, it was only a matter of time before Madrid found a breakthrough, and sure enough, there was Bale pouncing on a loose ball after a Ronaldo bicycle kick was cleared off the line and blasting it home to give Real a lead they wouldn’t surrender.

Of course, Real weren’t happy with just a one-goal lead, and they pushed hard for a second. It took awhile to earn, but it finally came a few minutes before the halftime whistle. A clever free kick set Dani Carvajal free in to the right side of the penalty area, and as coverage came his way he pulled it back for Ronaldo to strike on a half-volley. The shot predictably ended in a goal, but it didn’t go to Ronaldo’s credit -- the ball took a slight deflection off Bale despite his efforts to get out of the way, and so Bale entered halftime sitting on a hat trick.

Real kept on dominating in the second half with Levante utterly incapable of keeping up in pace or quality or really any measure you can think of. Only a tightly-packed defense kept them from shipping a boatload of goals, and even then it took a strike off the crossbar from Karim Benzema and a couple mis-hits right in front of goal to keep Madrid from scoring again.

Despite the closer-than-expected scoreline, this was still a very good performance for Real Madrid. They controlled the match comfortably and easily, avoiding some of the dangerous defensive pitfalls they’ve suffered in recent matches against Schalke, Athletic Bilbao, and Villarreal. Now with a win in the books, they can go in to next weekend’s Clasico with Barcelona with their heads held high and ready to fight for first place in La Liga.

Goals: Bale (18’, 40’)

Goals: None.