Gareth Bale rammed some of the ridiculous criticism he has received in recent weeks from Real Madrid supporters back down their throats with a first half double and the perfect goal celebration. The former Tottenham forward who scored 22 goals in 44 games in his first season at the club including strikes that won the Copa del Rey and Champions League final has had to put up with whistles in his own stadium and a fan poll that had 40 per cent of supporters calling for him to be dropped in recent weeks. When he put Real Madrid ahead on 18 minutes in the 2-0 win over Levante on Sunday night he made sure he left off some steam, covering his ears as he ran to the corner to give the flag a celebratory kick. Read back over Sportsmail's live coverage here. Host commentator . Thanks for following Sportsmail's live coverage of Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Levante. Big week of football coming up, starting with Swansea vs Liverpool - stick with MailOnline for all the updates. A drab second half is brought to the end by the referee. If only Karim Benzema had netted that ridiculous flick, eh? Anyway, Gareth Bale's seven-game run without scoring is over and he looks ready for next week's El Clasico, even if Cristiano Ronaldo was a bit out of sorts. Real Madrid move to within a point of Barcelona, and they are nine goals behind the Catalan club in terms of goal difference. Yeah, he's not scoring today. Marcelo puts in a cross, Bale slicks it on and Ronaldo shins the ball wide. Three minutes added on. Ronaldo elects to allow someone else to take a free-kick. This time it's Marcelo, he whips it in and it finds Hernandez but he wastes a header wide of the post. Oh, and Hernandez was just one of four Real players offside - the linesman spots it. Seconds later Nabil El Zhar flashes a shot well over the bar from the edge of the area, not that that statement will surprise Liverpool fans. Sergio Ramos pulls back Victor Casadesus. It's a yellow card for the Spaniard. Ronaldo still looking for that elusive goal, he cuts in from the left along the edge of the area, past two markers and fires in the shot but it's straight at goalkeeper Marino. Another change, Benzema gets a bit of a rest towards the end - with most people still gutted not to see his wondergoal effort go it - and is replaced by Javier Hernandez. Give the maestro a rest before El Clasico next week... Luka Modric comes off after completing 77 minutes and is replaced by Illarramendi. He might be the best player in the world but Ronaldo is taking a bit of a liberty here. First the lack of respect to Bale in the first half, and now he's running around demanding the ball. He gets it from Jese and then just loses the ball on the edge of the box. Obviously frustrated and not one for defensive responsibility, he stands with his hands on his hips. Kalu Uche off, Victor Casadesus on. Benzema plays in Bale and he fires at goal. Marino saves well but it escapes his grasp and Jese almost reaches it to tap in but the goalkeeper eventually gathers. There's four forwards for Real Madrid on the pitch now - looks like they're going to go with Ronaldo and Benzema up front as a pair, Jese on the left and Bale on the right as an extremely attacking front through. Ancelotti mixing things up. Wow! How do you describe that? Cristiano Ronaldo crosses from the right and Karim Benzema is completely unmarked. With the ball coming slightly behind him and around his midriff, he lifts his right heel and directs the ball on to the angle of post and crossbar. So close to a crazy goal. Absolute class and so, so ridiculous. Hopefully that will wake up this otherwise drab half. Nabir El Zhar (yes, the ex-Liverpool one) and Ruben Garcia replace Jose Luis Morales and Jordi Xumetra for Levante. Not much going on so far but Benzema fires over a half-volley seven minutes after the break. Real could do with a few more, they're nine goals behind Barcelona on the goal difference tally. Can Cristiano Ronaldo get himself a goal? And will Gareth Bale get his hat-trick? We'll find out in the next 45 minutes at the Bernabeu. Off we go. The Bernabeu crowd might be a bit more pleased with Bale, but team-mate Ronaldo certainly isn't. The Portuguese forward effectively set up the Welshman for both goals, albeit unintentionally, and was not best pleased. First, his acrobatic volley was cleared and Bale smashed in the rebound, with Ronaldo raising his arm in frustration even as Bale netted. Second, Bale deflected in Ronaldo's shot, which was heading wide, to make it 2-0, and the Ballon d'Or looked far from pleased, and it's not something that's gone unnoticed. Good start for Real Madrid. Two Gareth Bale goals - the second to the frustration of Cristiano Ronaldo - and they're 2-0 up. Keylor Navas has been a spectator in goal. That's Real sure of the win. A quick free-kick by Luka Modric plays Dani Carvajal in down the right, he cuts back to Cristiano Ronaldo who fires a shot across goal. It - decisively - deflects in off Gareth Bale and Real are 2-0 up. Ronaldo celebrates the strike but we're crediting that one to Bale. He's on a hat-trick now, unless the Ballon d'Or winner has a word at half-time. Well, of sorts. Morales cuts in from the left and tries to fire in a shot but it's blocked at close range. Real break but Benzema makes a wrong pas and the Bernabeu begins to boo. No pleasing these guys is there? They've done next to nothing so far but Levante are trying to play a bit, but there's just no intensity to their play Jose Luis Morales does well down the left but he can't get past his man and Real recover and are free to build up again. Moments later they look close to finding a gap in the Real defence but Pepe does well to clear away. Gareth Bale cuts back in from the right wing and it hits the chest of Simao to deflect on to the crossbar - not sure if the Welshman was aiming for a shot or cross but he's come close nonetheless. Bale also gets to the subsequent corner first but heads over. It's Real's 10th shot of the game (Levante have had none) and Cristiano Ronaldo almost makes it 2-0 to his side. He looks set for a tap-in in front of goal after Bale plays the ball across the six-yard line but Tono manages to get in with a last-ditch block to save Levante. Bale might have had the chance to silence his critics but Iker Casillas isn't quite so lucky as he sits on the bench. The Real captain got a less-than-warm reception from the crowd when his name was announced pre-match, as you can hear here: . Gareth Bale runs towards the Bernabeu crowd with his hands to his ears. Where are the boos now? After Cristiano Ronaldo's acrobatic volley was headed off the line, Bale slams in with a right-footed volley. It's 1-0 and Bale has his goal. Marino's having to be everywhere right now, although he probably knew it would be a busy night. This time it's Bale with the effort, he gets up to head Modric's corner goal-wards but the keeper makes a stunning diving save to keep it goalless. Karim Benzema has the ball in the net after he latches on to Marino's save from Lukas Modric's long shot, but the Frenchman is ruled offside by the linesman. Still 0-0. Cristiano Ronaldo is brought down 25 yards out and wins a free-kick. Six player wall...can he test Marino? No....it's hit the six-man wall. Here we go with another long-winded Real attack. Real not really breaking through their opponents in the last couple of minutes but they are well in control. Levante are effectively an eight-man defence and as soon as they break into the opposition half they give the ball away. Lovely flick from Gareth Bale over to Karim Benzema who cuts back to Ronaldo inside the box and he toe-pokes it towards the corner... but it hits the base of Diego Marino's post. A goal isn't far away. First chance for Gareth Bale to show what he can do. Decent early chance as he turns and volleys towards goal which arrows just wide of the top corner. We're underway at the Santiago Bernabeu. Before kick-off, a moment's reflection for former Real Madrid player Antonio Betancort who passed away today aged 78. It's bad enough having to play away against Real Madrid, but Levante have a dreadful record here and will likely just be hoping not to be on the end of a rout. The reverse fixture back in October ended 5-0 to Real, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice, and their past record at the Bernabeu makes grim reading too, looking from now back to 2008 their form here reads: 3-0, 5-1, 4-2, 2-0, 8-0 (yes, EIGHT), 5-2. Gareth Bale has no goals in his last nine games, so tonight is a big for him to change the fans' perceptions. Remember, we're only one week away from the big one: El Clasico. It's vital Real stay in touch. All the action here in 10 minutes. The big news for Real is that their famous front three of Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale all start - while Toni Kroos is rested. Oh, and of course Iker Casillas is dropped for Jesus Navas - although that seemed to be hinted by Carlo Ancelotti on Saturday. Here's the rest of their line-up plus the Levante XI: . Real Madrid (4-3-3): Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Silva, Isco; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo. Levante (4-2-3-1): Marino; Lopez, Navarro, Ramis, Tono; Camarasa, Simao; Xumetra, Barral, Morales; Uche.
Real Madrid face Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema all start . Bale was defended from criticism this week by Florentino Perez . Levante manager Lucas Alcaraz has played down talk of an upset .