Real Madrid beat Villarreal 1-0 but Vinicius sent off for hair pull

Published On 10 Oct 202610 Oct 2026.

Key points

• While Atletico Madrid are five points behind in second after they edged Alaves 2-1, champions Barca lead La Liga after a 3-0 win over Getafe.
• Jose Mourinho's Madrid battled through the final stages with 10 men but held on to win and go provisionally third.
• Striker Kylian Mbappe was fit to start the match for Madrid at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium after suffering a knee difficulty playing for France during the international break.
• After his trips to Australia and India with Brazil during the international break, mourinho began with out-of-form winger Vinicius on the bench.
• Mbappe struck the post from Alvaro Carreras's layoff as Madrid pushed Villarreal back early on.

Yan Diomande earned Real Madrid a tight 1-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday to keep them six points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, even though winger Vinicius Junior was sent off for hair-pulling.

Brazil international Vinicius, on as a substitute, scored, but his goal was disallowed. He was then dismissed after a VAR review indicated he had pulled the hair of Villarreal's Nathan Saliba.

There was a smattering of whistles for the superstar forward, with some fans believing he has been unprofessional in recent weeks, but additionally applause from other supporters.

Although he had little competition, mbappe, a candidate for the Ballon d'Or trophy afterwards this month, was Madrid's most threatening player in the first half.

Madrid improved defensively, giving Villarreal few chances of note, but struggled to build much in attack themselves in a drab opening half.

Villarreal shortly gained a foothold and restricted Madrid's opportunities, until Mbappe forced a good save from Peter Gulacsi.

There was some more mild whistling for Madrid's display from their fans at half-time, but they were shortly able to celebrate summer arrival Diomande's first goal for the club.

Notably, the Ivorian winger, Madrid's record 140 million euro ($157m) signing, 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.

Nevertheless, the winger's joy turned to anger after referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called to watch Vinicius's hair pull on Saliba in the buildup by VAR and sent off the Brazilian, voiding the goal.

Madrid's Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. This person had created a couple of smart saves earlier in the half, produced an acrobatic stop to thwart Carlos Romero.

Although his team were able to clinch three significant points to stay on Barca's trail, mbappe was denied again by Hungarian goalkeeper Gulasci as the forward left the Bernabeu frustrated in his hunt for goals.

Taken together, the developments around real Madrid beat Villarreal 1-0 but Vinicius sent off for hair pull point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.