Gareth Bale's brace has put Real Madrid in a commanding position with a 2-0 lead at half time against Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu this evening.

Carlo Ancelotti's side thought that they had taken the lead when Karim Benzema converted from close range, but the France international had strayed into an offside position before finishing.

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Bale responded to recent criticism of his performances to give Los Blancos the lead on 18 minutes when he rifled into the bottom corner after Cristiano Ronaldo's effort was cleared off the line.

Ronaldo almost made it 2-0 before the half-hour mark when he latched on to Bale's low cross, but Tono did well to divert the effort wide.

Simao nearly put through his own net on 36 minutes, but his header from Bale's cross hit the woodwork before the Welsh winger nodded over moments later.

The world's most expensive player added his second of the game with five minutes of normal time remaining when he flicked Ronaldo's goalbound effort into the corner.