"Real" achieves important victory, Vinicius's goal is disallowed and he is sent off

In the 8th round of the Spanish La Liga, Madrid's "Real" hosted "Villarreal" at home and secured a minimal 1-0 victory in an emotionally charged and tense match.

While the fate of the match was decided by a single goal scored by defender Diomande, Brazilian star Vinicius Junior, who came on as a substitute in the second half, turned into both the main hero and the anti-hero of the game within just a few minutes.

Diomande's goal and dramatic moments around Vinicius

The second half of the match at the "Santiago Bernabeu" turned into a true clash of intensity and emotions:

• The decisive goal (62nd minute): After an hour of play, the Madrid side's pressure paid off — Diomande accurately hit the opponent's goal, putting "Real" ahead;

• Disallowed goal (71st minute): Vinicius, who came on as a substitute for Trent in the 52nd minute, scored a goal in the 71st minute to the delight of the fans. However, the referees disallowed this goal due to a foul or offside;

• Red card and sending off (73rd minute): Just two minutes later, the Brazilian forward could not control his nerves and was directly sent off by the main referee. For the remaining 17 minutes and stoppage time, the "royal club" was forced to defend with a man down.

A rain of fouls and a rise in the standings

In the final minutes of the game, the referee was generous with yellow cards — Konate, Ruediger, Tchouameni, and Kylian Mbappe from Madrid were cautioned. Nevertheless, the hosts maintained their minimal advantage:

• "Real" in the top three: Following this important victory, "Real Madrid" increased its points tally to 18 and rose to 3rd place in the league table;

• "Villarreal" among mid-table teams: Leaving away empty-handed, the "yellow submarine" occupies the 11th position with 8 points.

Match details and lineups

• La Liga. Round 8

  "Real" — "Villarreal" 1:0

  Goal: Diomande (62).

• "Real": Courtois, Trent (Vinicius, 52), Konate, Ruediger, Carreras (Cucurella, 46), Valverde, Bellingham, Tchouameni, Diomande (Dumfries, 86), Gueler (Camavinga, 77), Mbappe.

• "Villarreal": Gulacsi, Freeman, Navarro, Foyth (Romero, 56), Veiga, Cardona (Oluwaseyi, 67), Comesana (Saliba, 56), Gueye, Moleiro, Akhomach (Moreno, 67), Ayoze Perez.

• Yellow cards: Bellingham (19), Konate (81), Ruediger (83), Tchouameni (87), Mbappe (90) — Veiga (10), Navarro (84).

• Red card: Vinicius (73).

Carlo Ancelotti's pupils showed willpower in this difficult and nervous match, continuing their fight in the championship race.