Diomande delivers on Mourinho's faith as Madrid grind out narrow win

Real Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Villarreal at the Estadio Bernabeu, but the three points came at a cost as Vinicius Junior was shown a straight red card and now faces a multi-game ban that will rule him out of the season's first El Clasico.

Jose Mourinho opted to start teenager Yan Diomande ahead of the out-of-form Vinicius, and the youngster repaid his manager's trust by opening his Madrid account in the 62nd minute. Collecting a pass from Federico Valverde, Diomande arrowed a strike into the bottom-left corner that proved to be the match-winner.

Vinicius endures 'cameo to forget' and earns dismissal

Vinicius was introduced from the bench after starting the night among the substitutes amid a poor recent individual run. He looked to have doubled Madrid's lead with around 20 minutes remaining, converting from Jude Bellingham's cut-back. Instead, a VAR check revealed that the Brazilian had intentionally pulled Nathan Saliba's hair in the build-up, and the goal was disallowed before Vinicius was shown a straight red card.

"Vinícius went on to endure a cameo to forget," reported Get Spanish Football News, describing how the winger "was forced to make do with a spot on the bench from the off" before his dismissal.

The red card carries significant consequences for Madrid. Vinicius "is expected to play no part in the club's upcoming showdown with arch rivals Barcelona," with the first El Clasico of the season scheduled for October 25. He faces up to a multi-game suspension in LaLiga.

Madrid ride their luck after going down to 10 men

Before the goal, Madrid had spurned several chances. Pape Gueye dragged wide early for Villarreal, while Kylian Mbappe struck the woodwork in the seventh minute after Alvaro Carreras' cross, then shot straight at Peter Gulacsi following a lofted pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold. Arda Guler also failed to test the Villarreal goalkeeper from a tight angle.

After Diomande's opener, Thibaut Courtois was alert to deny Carlos Romero and Georges Mikautadze late on as Madrid absorbed sustained pressure and held on for the win.

Diomande shines amid the drama

Diomande's contribution went well beyond his goal. Alongside his match-winner, he recorded the joint-most touches in the box of any Madrid player (seven), created the joint-most chances (three), won the joint-most duels (six) and attempted the second-most dribbles (five). His performance may well earn him a continued starting role even when Vinicius returns from suspension.

It was hardly the entertainment Madrid fans have become used to at home. After scoring four in each of their last four home LaLiga matches, Los Blancos netted just once from 11 shots worth 0.95 expected goals (xG). Villarreal's main threat came from Gueye, who recorded a match-high four shots, but the visitors failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage, bringing an end to their two-game winning run.