Real Madrid held on to beat Villarreal 1-0 despite a dramatic red card for Vinicius Junior.

Madrid, beaten 2-1 by rivals Atletico Madrid in their previous game before the international break, were unconvincing for long periods at the Santiago Bernabeu, but took a second-half lead as Yan Diomande opened his account for the club.

Diomande was selected ahead of Vinicius, who was left on the bench after travelling with a Brazil side that played in Australia and India during the break.

But Vinicius looked to have sealed all three points when he netted 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 chalked off and Vinicius was sent off following a VAR check, replays clearly showing him to have pulled the hair of Nathan Saliba in the build-up.

That decision infuriated the Bernabeu crowd, but ultimately it did not deny Madrid the victory they craved as they stayed within six points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona.

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

The France star volleyed against the outside of the post in the eighth minute after good build-up play from Arda Guler and Alvaro Carreras. Fourteen minutes later, Mbappe was denied by Peter Gulacsi having been played through by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Villarreal did carry a threat and Alberto Moleiro shot narrowly wide from long range, but it was the introduction of Vinicius that kicked the game into life seven minutes into the second half.

Madrid were grateful to Thibaut Courtois for beating away a pair of efforts from Pape Gueye shortly after Vinicius’ introduction, and there was nothing the Belgian goalkeeper’s counterpart Gulacsi could do at the other end as the hosts punished Villarreal’s failure to take their chances.

It initially looked as if Diomande would be denied a first Madrid goal by the offside flag after he latched to Federico Valverde’s clever pass and rifled beyond Gulacsi.

However, replays showed the Ivorian was clearly onside and he was able to celebrate following a VAR check.

And more raucous celebrations greeted what looked to be a goal to end the game as a contest from Vinicius, who smartly tucked home following good work down the left from Jude Bellingham, prompting Mourinho’s overt show of support for the forward.

Yet the joy of Mourinho and his players turned to fury as referee Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos was sent to the pitchside monitor and showed no hesitation in chalking off the goal and showing Vinicius a straight red for his ill-advised pull on Saliba.

Carlos Romero saw a strike tipped over by Courtois as Villarreal sought to take advantage of a remarkable turn of events, before Mbappe was again denied by Gulacsi at the other end.

Georges Mikautadze wasted a gilt-edged chance to level when he fired straight at Courtois from close range, and that proved Villarreal’s last chance to punish Madrid for another off-colour display.

Real Madrid Villarreal

The La Liga Table

# Team Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Pts Last 5

1	Barcelona	8	8	0	0	34	7	27	24	W W W W W
2	Atletico Madrid	8	6	1	1	18	8	10	19	W W W W L
3	Real Betis	7	5	1	1	9	7	2	16	D W W W L
4	Real Madrid	7	5	0	2	18	8	10	15	W L W W L
5	Sevilla	7	4	1	2	10	9	1	13	L W W D L
6	Alaves	8	3	2	3	12	8	4	11	L D L L W
7	Deportivo La Coruna	7	2	4	1	10	8	2	10	D L D W W
8	Real Sociedad	7	3	1	3	9	13	-4	10	W L W D W
9	Villarreal	7	2	2	3	13	12	1	8	L W W L L
10	Athletic Club	6	2	2	2	7	6	1	8	D D W W L
11	Espanyol	8	2	2	4	11	11	0	8	D L L W D
12	Rayo Vallecano	7	2	2	3	11	16	-5	8	D W L W L
13	Getafe	8	2	2	4	4	10	-6	8	L W L D D
14	Osasuna	7	2	2	3	6	13	-7	8	D L L L W
15	Celta Vigo	7	1	4	2	8	6	2	7	W D D D L
16	Racing Santander	7	2	1	4	11	21	-10	7	L L W L W
17	Levante	6	1	2	3	8	12	-4	5	L L D W D
18	Elche	7	1	2	4	11	17	-6	5	W L D L L
19	Valencia	7	1	1	5	4	13	-9	4	L W L L L
20	Malaga	8	0	4	4	4	13	-9	4	D L L D D

• Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Champions League league stage
• Position 5 : Europa League league stage
• Position 6 : ECL Playoffs
• Position 18, 19, 20 : Relegation

Upcoming fixtures for Real Madrid and Villarreal