Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday, thanks to a goal from 19-year-old winger Yan Diomande. The win keeps Madrid six points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who won 3-0 over Getafe earlier in the day. Madrid's victory was marred by the sending off of winger Vinicius Junior, who was dismissed after a VAR review showed he pulled the hair of Villarreal's Nathan Saliba.
The match got off to a slow start, with both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances in a drab opening half. Madrid's star forward Kylian Mbappe, a candidate for the Ballon d'Or trophy later this month, was the team's most threatening player in the first half, but had little competition. Mbappe struck the post from Alvaro Carreras's lay-off as Madrid pushed Villarreal back early on, and later forced a good save from Peter Gulacsi.
The second half saw Madrid improve defensively, giving Villarreal few chances of note, but they struggled to build much in attack themselves. However, they were able to celebrate Diomande's first goal for the club, which proved to be the winner. The Ivorian winger produced a sharp low finish into the far corner after good work from Federico Valverde to play him in.
Vinicius thought he had doubled Madrid's lead after Jude Bellingham charged in down the left and cut the ball back for him, but his joy turned to anger after referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called to watch Vinicius's hair pull on Saliba in the build-up by VAR and sent off the Brazilian, voiding his goal. This incident left a bitter taste for Los Blancos, with the winger running the risk of a potential ban which could keep him out of the Clasico on October 25.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Madrid held on to their slender lead, with Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making a couple of smart saves to thwart Villarreal. Courtois produced an acrobatic stop to deny Carlos Romero, while Mbappe was denied again by Hungarian goalkeeper Gulacsi as the forward left the Bernabeu frustrated.
The win moves Madrid provisionally third in LaLiga, while Villarreal remain in mid-table. Madrid coach Jose Mourinho complained bitterly about refereeing decisions which did not go his team's way in the derby defeat by Atletico before the recent international break, and may have concerns about the consistency of refereeing decisions going forward.
Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni expressed relief at the victory, saying, "I don't know what's going on with the referees, with this red card, I don't understand, but the most important thing is the victory." The win keeps Madrid in touch with the top of the table, and they will look to build on this momentum in their upcoming matches.
Key points
- Real Madrid's Yan Diomande scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Villarreal.
- Vinicius Junior was sent off for hair-pulling, potentially facing a ban for the Clasico on October 25.
- The win keeps Madrid six points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona.
