Real Madrid 1-0 Villarreal: Mourinho’s 10 men win despite Vinicius drama

Real Madrid beat Villarreal 1-0 despite Vinicius Junior’s dramatic red card.

Madrid, who lost 2-1 to rivals Atletico Madrid before the international break, were unconvincing for long periods at the Santiago Bernabeu, but took the lead in the second half when Yann Diomande opened the scoring for the club.

Diomande was selected ahead of Vinicius, who was left on the bench after traveling with the Brazil team to play Australia and India during the break.

But Vinicius looked to have sealed all three points when he scored within 20 minutes of his introduction, his effort prompting manager Jose Mourinho to run down the touchline to join his players.

However, the goal was chalked off and Vinicius was sent off after a VAR review, with replays clearly showing him pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up.

The decision enraged the Bernabeu crowd, but in the end Madrid were not denied the victory they craved as they stayed within six points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona.

Madrid’s underwhelming first-half performance should still have taken the lead, with Kylian Mbappe guilty of wasting a pair of clear-cut chances.

The French star volleyed a volley against the post in the eighth minute after good build-up play from Arda Güler and Alvaro Carreras. 14 minutes later, Mbappe was denied by Peter Gulacsy, played by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Villarreal threatened and Alberto Moleiro had a shot narrowly wide from long range, but it was Vinicius’ introduction that revived the game seven minutes into the second half.

Madrid were grateful to Thibaut Courtois for beating out a pair of Pape Gueye efforts shortly after Vinicius’ introduction, and the Belgian goalkeeper’s colleague Gulacsi could do nothing at the other end as the hosts punished Villarreal for missing their chances.

Diomande looked set to have his first Madrid goal denied by an offside flag after he latched on to Federico Valverde’s clever pass and rifled a shot beyond Gulacsi.

However, replays showed the Ivorian was clearly in the area and managed to score after a VAR review.

And more raucous celebrations greeted Jude Bellingham’s goal to end the game as Vinicius’s challenger did well on the left, prompting Mourinho to openly back the forward.

However, the jubilation of Mourinho and his players turned to anger as referee Isidro Diaz de Mera Escuderos was sent to the pitchside monitor and awarded the goal without hesitation, showing Vinicius a straight red for a foul on Saliba.

Carlos Romero saw a strike from Courtois as Villarreal looked to capitalize on a remarkable turn of events before Mbappe was again denied by Gulacsi at the other end.

Georges Mikautadze wasted a chance to equalize when he fired straight at Courtois from close range in what proved to be Villarreal’s last chance to punish Madrid for yet another lackluster performance.

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