Two penalties steal it for Madrid

Los Blancos will have been trying to gain some momentum ahead of El Clasico against Barcelona in the return leg of the Copa del Rey Semifinals, which will take place on Wednesday.

However, Santiago Solari will make sure not to underestimate Levante at home, especially since they beat Real in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign. Notably, Marcelo started on the bench for Solari's side after a disappointing run of form. Nacho took his place in right-back.

The teams started the match of fairly equal in terms of possession and both managed to create chances early on. As they settled into the match, it was Levante who started to up the pressure on Madrid's defence.

Roger had Levante's first clear chance as he attempted to tap it home from a corner. The ball clattered the post and Madrid cleared to safety.

Real Madrid responded with a period of possession that culminated with a Luka Modric cross which struck the arm of Bardhi in the 18-yard box. The referee consulted VAR and awarded the penalty.

Benzema stepped up and had no problems converting the spot-kick to Real Madrid the lead just before half-time.

Both teams had huge chances immediately after the break! Levante's came first as Roger got past Casemiro but couldn't find the back of the net due to Courtois' point-blank save.

Just minutes later, Madrid responded with another chance but Vinicius, again, fumbled his footwork and gave Levante's defence time to surround him, dispossess him and clear the ball.

Madrid will have regretted not netting for a second time as it didn't take Levante long to hit back with an equaliser. Morales whips a dangerous cross into the box and Roger didn't need asking twice to tap it beyond Courtois. He did well as a tackle from Varane was approaching.

Vinicius Jr saw chances come and go as he had Madrid's clearest chance of the second-half so far on the 70 minute mark. He strode forward on goal but the shot was nothing special and Fernandez spread himself wide to save.

After a flurry of substitutions, including Gareth Bale coming on for Madrid, Solari's side looked more likely to score. With a lot more pressure and a bit of luck, Madrid were awarded their second penalty of the evening after Doukoure brought Casemiro down in the box.

Gareth Bale stepped up to the spot-kick and converted it in style to make it 2-1 to Los Blancos. Although, replays of the penalty incident revealed that Casemiro may well have dived.

Towards the close of play, all sense of composure seemed to fly out the window as Nacho was dismissed for Real, having received a second yellow card, as well as Rochina who was on Levante's bench. The referee had already awarded Rochina a yellow card for an earlier dispute whilst on the bench.

Real Madrid will be happy with the win as they have an upcoming Clasico against Barcelona on Wednesday. Levante will feel that if the second penalty hadn't been awarded, they might have had a chance towards the end of the match.