La Liga, Round 8Real MadridREA 1 0 Full Time VillarrealVIL Venue Santiago Bernabu Stadium Referee Isidro Diaz de Mera EscuderosYan Diomande 62 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.Madrids 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 goalkeepers counterpart Gulacsi could do at the other end as the hosts punished Villarreals 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 Valverdes 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 Mourinhos overt show of support for the forward.Yet the joy of Mourinho and his players turned to fury as referee Isidro Daz 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 Villarreals last chance to punish Madrid for another off-colour display. Real Madrid Villarreal 1 Goals 0 46% Possession 54% 11 Total Shots 15 4 Shots on Target 4 4 Shots off Target 7 9 Corners 3 8 Fouls 13 3 Offsides 1 5 Yellow Cards 2 1 Red Cards 0 4 Saves 3 406 Passes 475 338 Passes Completed 421 83% Pass Accuracy 89% Home Away The La Liga Table La Liga 2026 Spain #TeamPlayedWonDrawnLostGFGAGDPtsLast 5 1 Barcelona77003172421 W W W W W 2 Atletico Madrid86111881019 W W W W L 3 Real Betis751197216 D W W W L 4 Real Madrid75021881015 W L W W L 5 Sevilla7412109113 L W W D L 6 Alaves8323128411 L D L L W 7 Deportivo La Coruna7241108210 D L D W W 8 Real Sociedad7313913-410 W L W D W 9 Villarreal7223131218 L W W L L 10 Athletic Club62227618 D D W W L 11 Espanyol8224111108 D L L W D 12 Getafe722347-38 L W L D D 13 Rayo Vallecano72231116-58 D W L W L 14 Osasuna7223613-78 D L L L W 15 Celta Vigo71428627 W D D D L 16 Racing Santander72141121-107 L L W L W 17 Levante6123812-45 L L D W D 18 Elche71241117-65 W L D L L 19 Valencia7115413-94 L W L L L 20 Malaga8044413-94 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 Upcoming Fixtures : Real Madrid UEFA Champions League AS Roma ROM 20:00 2026-10-14 Real Madrid REA La Liga Real Madrid REA 16:00 2026-10-18 Sevilla SEV UEFA Champions League Real Madrid REA 20:00 2026-10-21 RB Leipzig LEI La Liga Barcelona BAR 16:00 2026-10-25 Real Madrid REA La Liga Racing Santander SAN 16:00 2026-11-01 Real Madrid REA Upcoming Fixtures : Villarreal UEFA Champions League Villarreal VIL 20:00 2026-10-13 Napoli NAP La Liga Villarreal VIL 15:15 2026-10-17 Elche ELC UEFA Champions League Liverpool LIV 20:00 2026-10-20 Villarreal VIL La Liga Valencia VAL 16:00 2026-10-25 Villarreal VIL La Liga Villarreal VIL 16:00 2026-11-01 Espanyol ESP Topics LaLiga Real Madrid CF Villarreal CF If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Barcelona 3-0 Getafe: Gordon breaks duck as leaders maintain perfect start Nicholas McGee 10th October, 2026 Real Madrid v Villarreal: Commentary, live updates and goals Jon Fisher 10th October, 2026 Real Madrid v Villarreal: Confirmed line-ups as Vinicius left on bench Nicholas McGee 10th October, 2026 WATCH: Gordon ends wait for first Barcelona goal Nicholas McGee 10th October, 2026 Barcelona v Getafe: Commentary, live updates and goals Jon Fisher 10th October, 2026 Barcelona v Getafe: Confirmed line-ups as champions aim to continue perfect start Nicholas McGee 10th October, 2026
