Los Blancos and Los Azules are guaranteed to finish second and 20th respectively, so the only thing to play for was pride.
Some Madrid players may also have wanted to make a statement to Jose Mourinho, who is reportedly set to be appointed manager for the second time, and the hosts nearly made the perfect start when Gonzalo Garcia scampered to the byline and picked out Franco Mastantuono, whose close-range shot was well saved by Aarón Escandell.
The contest lacked intensity, but Trent Alexander-Arnold almost provided a much-needed spark midway through the half when he arrowed a fierce effort just past the post from 25 yards out.
Brahim Diaz fired over the crossbar before Vinicius Junior failed to connect properly with Alexander-Arnold’s cross, as Los Blancos began to threaten more consistently.
However, it was the visitors who should have gone ahead seven minutes before half-time when a flowing move ended with Nacho Vidal blazing over from six yards out.
The full-back was rueing that miss when Diaz won possession deep in Oviedo’s half one minute before the break and found Garcia, who stroked home his fifth LaLiga goal of the season from just inside the box.
The second half produced more goals than the first in each of Madrid’s previous four home league fixtures, and the Bernabeu crowd will have wanted that trend to continue.
They were on their feet 10 minutes after half-time, but only to welcome Oviedo veteran and two-time European Championship winner Santi Cazorla onto the field as a substitute.
Cazorla’s side could have levelled shortly after when Alberto Reina miscued a volley at the far post before Escandell made himself big to deny Alvaro Carreras at the other end.
Moments later, Vidal missed his second big chance of the night when he raced in behind but side-footed his shot just past the post.
With 21 minutes left, Kylian Mbappe made his return from injury as a substitute, with his introduction and every touch greeted with whistles by the Madridistas.
The Frenchman was clearly desperate to score, but it was another replacement, Jude Bellingham, who sealed victory 11 minutes from time when he showed neat footwork on the edge of the box before rifling home his seventh goal of the season across all competitions.
Thibaut Courtois preserved his clean sheet with a flying save from Haissem Hassan’s curling effort, as Madrid responded to Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Barcelona by stretching their unbeaten run at the Bernabéu to five games (W4, D1).