MADRID, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid overcame a difficult first half and a hostile atmosphere at home to beat Levante 2-0 on Saturday in a game marked by home-fan protests against the players and club president Florentino Perez.
Real Madrid players, Vinicius Jr. in particular, were greeted by loud jeers and whistles as they ran out to warm up, with Vinicius booed every time he touched the ball after the kickoff.
The chorus of complaint was deafening when the players left the pitch with the score 0-0 at halftime, and only eased after Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring from the penalty spot following a foul on himself. Raul Asencio then doubled the lead with a powerful header from a corner to seal the win.
Real Betis boosted its hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Europa League again next season with a 2-0 home win over third-placed Villarreal with goals from Aitor Ruibal and Pablo Fornals, while Santi Comesana was sent off for the visitors with 15 minutes left to play.
Vedat Muriqi scored a hat-trick as Mallorca claimed a 3-2 win at home over Athletic Bilbao, with the VAR giving the home side two questionable penalties for handball.
The striker put Mallorca ahead in the fifth minute with a smart finish, but Unai Gomez quickly leveled. Mallorca's first penalty was saved by Unai Simon, but Muriqi followed up to score from the rebound.
Nico Williams equalized again before halftime, but another penalty allowed Muriqi to score what turned out to be the winning goal, while the referee also sent off visiting trio of Gorka Guruzeta, Gomez and Inigo Lekue, the latter two from the dugout.
Victor Munoz scored in injury time to give Osasuna a 3-2 win at home to Oviedo, who had led twice at the El Sadar Stadium through Federico Vinas and Alberto Reina, only for Ante Budimir to pull Osasuna level on both occasions.
Girona continued its recovery on Friday night with a 2-0 win away to Espanyol in the Catalan derby.
Penalties from Vladyslav Vanat, the first retaken after Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic was penalized for moving off his line, at the end of each half gave Girona a third consecutive win to lift the team into mid-table. ■
