Los Blancos’ players and Alvaro Arbeloa were met by whistles following their cup humiliation at the hands of Albacete, and Karl Etta Eyong had an opportunity to add to their frustrations in the opening minute, but sent his attempt wide.
The strange atmosphere in the stands was reflected on the pitch too, as Kylian Mbappe’s shot was deflected behind and Eduardo Camavinga’s sailed harmlessly off-target.
Pablo Martinez then saw his free-kick blocked by Federico Valverde in the wall, before he failed to work Thibaut Courtois with a harmless follow-up.
Aurelien Tchouameni hit a first-time shot from range that was blocked, before the ball went as flat as the events up to that point and was replaced. But there was finally reason for some applause shortly after the half-hour mark, thanks to Raul Asencio’s ball behind for Mbappe, even if the Frenchman guided his attempt wide.
Gonzalo Garcia then finally registered the first shot on target, with a header in the 37th minute that was routinely saved, but there were more questions asked from two Granotes free-kicks before the break, with Martinez’s effort grazing the side netting on its way behind and Adrian de la Fuente’s being blocked.
The response from Real Madrid was a double substitution ahead of the restart, and Arda Guler looked to make an impact, as he linked up nicely with Mbappe before hitting a fizzed shot that Mathew Ryan got down well to thwart.
Moments later, he played the ball through for Mbappe to lure De la Fuente into conceding a penalty that the Frenchman confidently converted.
Guler was involved again just seven minutes later as he delivered an inviting corner that Asencio authoritatively headed into the top corner.
Becoming increasingly unplayable for Levante, Guler then saw an ambitious strike of his own saved, before Ivan Romero smashed his attempt over as Levante looked for a route back into proceedings.
Back at the other end, Franco Mastantuono was denied a spectacular goal by the crossbar and Bellingham’s header was saved, but the hosts’ buffer was never reduced as they saw out the remaining minutes with ease.
Real’s first win in three competitive matches has provided a much-needed lift after the horrors of midweek, and they now find themselves just one point behind Barcelona - albeit ahead of the league leaders’ Sunday night fixture against Real Sociedad.
In doing so, they also inflicted the first defeat in four games for a Levante side that stays 19th for now.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Arda Guler (Real Madrid)