Real Madrid secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu, with Yan Diomande scoring the decisive goal before Vinicius Junior was sent off for pulling an opponent’s hair.
Diomande’s strike earned Los Blancos all three points and returned them to winning ways in LaLiga, despite a late spell of pressure from Villarreal.
Villarreal threatened early when Pape Gueye fired wide, while Kylian Mbappe struck the woodwork in the seventh minute after connecting with a cross from Alvaro Carreras.
Mbappe came close again before the break but shot straight at Peter Gulacsi following an excellent lofted pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold. Arda Guler also failed to trouble the Villarreal goalkeeper with an effort from a tight angle.
Madrid eventually broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute when Diomande collected a pass from Federico Valverde and fired into the bottom-left corner.
The hosts suffered a setback 10 minutes later when Vinicius thought he had doubled their advantage by converting Jude Bellingham’s cut-back. However, the goal was disallowed after the Brazilian was shown a straight red card for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair during the build-up.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Madrid held firm as Thibaut Courtois produced late saves to deny Carlos Romero and Georges Mikautadze, securing the victory.
Diomande shines amid Vinicius controversy
Madrid’s manager, Jose Mourinho, selected Diomande ahead of Vinicius in the starting lineup, and the teenager rewarded that decision by scoring his first goal for the club.
With Vinicius now facing a potential suspension, Diomande could have an opportunity to retain his place in the starting eleven.
Beyond his winning goal, Diomande recorded seven touches in the opposition box, created three chances, won six duels and attempted five dribbles, highlighting his influence throughout the match.
The performance, however, lacked the attacking excitement Madrid supporters had enjoyed in recent home fixtures. After scoring four goals in each of their previous four home LaLiga matches, Los Blancos managed just one goal from 11 shots, registering 0.95 expected goals (xG).
Gueye posed Villarreal’s biggest attacking threat, finishing with a match-high four shots. However, the visitors failed to take advantage of their numerical superiority after Vinicius’ dismissal, bringing their two-match winning streak to an end.
