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

Real Madrid maintained its 1-0 victory over Villarreal despite Vinicius Junior’s dramatic red card.

Real Madrid, which lost 2-1 to its rival Atletico Madrid in its previous match before the international break, was not convincing for long periods at the Santiago Bernabeu, but it took the lead in the second half when Yann Diomande opened his account for the club.

Diomande was chosen at the expense of Vinicius, who remained on the bench after traveling with the Brazilian national team, which played in Australia and India during the break.

But Vinicius appeared to have sealed the three points when he scored within 20 minutes of his introduction, his effort leading coach Jose Mourinho to run down the touchline and join his players in celebration.

However, the goal was disallowed and Vinicius was sent off after a VAR check, with replays clearly showing that he pulled Nathan Saliba’s hair during the build-up.

This decision angered the Bernabéu fans, but in the end it did not deprive Real Madrid of the victory it longed for as it remained six points away from the margin. Spanish League Barcelona leaders.

Real Madrid’s underwhelming first-half performance saw them take the lead, with Kylian Mbappe guilty of wasting a pair of clear-cut chances.

The French star hit the post directly from outside the goal in the eighth minute after a good build-up by Arda Guler and Alvaro Carreras. After 14 minutes, Mbappe’s attempt was blocked by Peter Gulaxy after a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Villarreal posed a threat and Alberto Molero shot a long-range shot, but it was Vinicius’s pass that brought life back to the match seven minutes after the start of the second half.

Real Madrid were grateful to Thibaut Courtois for beating away two attempts from Pape Guay shortly after Vinicius’ introduction, and there was nothing their Belgian goalkeeper Gollaksy counterpart could do at the other end as the hosts punished Villarreal’s failure to convert their chances.

It initially looked as if Diomande would be denied Madrid’s first goal due to an offside flag after he latched on to Federico Valverde’s clever pass and shot wide of the Goulacki.

However, television replays showed that the Ivorian player was clearly present and was able to celebrate after VAR was used.

More wild celebrations greeted what appeared to be a goal to end the game as a contest from Vinicius, who smartly headed home after good work down the left flank from Jude Bellingham, prompting Mourinho to publicly show support for the striker.

However, the joy of Mourinho and his players turned to anger when referee Isidro Diaz de Mira Escuderos was sent to the pitch monitor and showed no hesitation in disallowing the goal and sending off Vinicius with a straight red card for his ill-advised tackle on Saliba.

Carlos Romero saw a strike saved by Courtois as Villarreal looked to capitalize on the remarkable turn of events, before the Golaxi once again denied Mbappe a shot at the other end.

George Mikautadze wasted a golden opportunity to equalize when he shot straight at Courtois from close range, and it was Villarreal’s last chance to punish Real Madrid for another inappropriate display.

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