Real Madrid secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Villarreal in the Spanish LaLiga on Saturday, surviving a late disciplinary setback after Vinícius Júnior was sent off at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Yan Diomande scored the decisive goal shortly after the hour mark, registering his first goal for the club to give Real the victory in a tense encounter.
Villarreal threatened early through Pape Gueye, who fired wide, while Kylian Mbappé came close to opening the scoring for the hosts but struck the post after seven minutes.
The French forward later forced a save from goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi as both sides created opportunities.
Real also threatened through Ibrahima Konaté, who headed over from a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner, and Arda Güler, who missed the target.
Villarreal responded with chances of their own, with Alberto Moleiro and Renato Veiga testing the home defence.
The breakthrough arrived after the hour when Federico Valverde collected the ball on the right, evaded a challenge and played a precise through pass to Diomande.
The forward turned sharply before firing a low shot into the far corner.
Although the goal was initially ruled out for offside, a VAR review confirmed it.
Vinícius appeared to double Real’s advantage in the 72nd minute after Jude Bellingham set him up during a swift counterattack.
Manager José Mourinho ran down the touchline to celebrate, but the goal was subsequently disallowed after a VAR review identified Vinícius pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair earlier in the move.
The Brazilian was sent off for the offence.
Real faced a tense finish as frustrations mounted and four of their players received yellow cards in the closing stages.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, however, produced crucial saves to deny Villarreal substitutes Carlos Romero and Gerard Moreno, ensuring the hosts held on for all three points.
