Real Madrid held on for a 1-0 La Liga win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, October 10, after Yan Diomande’s 62nd-minute goal and a late twist that saw Vinicius Junior sent off for pulling an opponent’s hair.
Neither side found a way through in a goalless first half. Villarreal were organised and Real Madrid probed for space, with Kylian Mbappe testing the visiting goalkeeper on 21 minutes, and Thibaut Courtois was soon needed at the other end.
Diomande broke the deadlock after an initial decision against the goal was overturned on review. Federico Valverde created the space and the youngster finished with his right foot, sending the home crowd into celebration after a tense hour.
Vinicius, who came on as a substitute shortly before that goal, thought he had doubled the lead with a counterattack finished from Jude Bellingham’s pass. Jose Mourinho ran to celebrate with the players.
Then VAR intervened. Referee Isidro Diaz de Mera went to the pitchside monitor and saw Vinicius tug hard on the hair of Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba during the sprint. He cancelled the goal and showed a straight red card.
Vinicius was furious and screamed at the official as teammates tried to calm him. Real Madrid played out the remaining time with ten men, leading 1-0 from the 72nd minute, and had to survive sustained Villarreal pressure.
Courtois made four saves, including two in quick succession on 59 minutes, and the back line cleared 18 times. Mbappe also had a chance to make it 2-0, but the Villarreal goalkeeper again came out on top.
Villarreal had more possession and shots, and sent on Gerard Moreno and Georges Mikautadze to chase the game. Marc Cucurella, introduced at the break, and Eduardo Camavinga helped Madrid keep control.
It was a bad-tempered finish. Aurelien Tchouameni, Mbappe, Antonio Ruediger and Ibrahima Konate were booked, as were Villarreal’s Pau Navarro and Renato Veiga, while Mourinho was cautioned before kick-off.
The red card now threatens Vinicius’s place in El Clasico.
According to AS, the incident is likely to be treated as violent conduct, with a ban of between two and three games, and Madrid have two fixtures before that match.
The final sanction will depend on the referee’s report, particularly on whether his protests are judged to have been abusive. A two-match suspension would rule him out of both games before El Clasico.