Real Madrid fans recently made it clear that they would rather see Yan Diomande in the starting lineup than Vinicius Junior. That was the case in this match, at least initially. Diomande found the back of the net before the Brazilian came on and caused chaos. He appeared to score himself, only for a bizarre attacking foul to earn him a red card. Mourinho’s side ultimately survived the drama, but the bitter aftertaste remains.Real Madrid and Villarreal played out an intriguing first half, with the visitors enjoying more possession but the hosts looking considerably more dangerous in front of goal. Mbappe was met with a few whistles from the home crowd when he first touched the ball in the opening minute, but Madrid soon began to threaten the Villarreal defence.The visitors delivered the first warning in the fourth minute when Gueye unleashed a powerful long-range effort that flew narrowly wide of Courtois's goal, coming close to the top corner. Konate had intercepted a dangerous cross moments earlier, and Villarreal continued to look comfortable on the ball. ##NAJAVA_MECA_10017192##Two minutes later, however, Madrid came close to taking the lead. Arda Guler switched play before picking out Carreras, who made an excellent run from deep and laid the ball off to Mbappe. The Frenchman tried to finish first time, but his effort missed the target by inches.Mbappe had another excellent opportunity in the 21st minute after Alexander-Arnold produced a spectacular long pass to send him in behind the Villarreal defence. The striker cut inside the penalty area and got his shot away, but the goalkeeper was equal to the effort, denying Madrid's star forward for the second time. Despite Villarreal controlling 51% of possession and completing 159 accurate passes at a 90% success rate, the visitors had yet to register a shot on target, while Madrid continued to pose the greater threat.📸 – HUGE CHANCE FOR MBAPPE BUT HE DOESN'T SCORE! https://t.co/xNtsWKpeXs— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) October 10, 2026 The hosts nearly found the breakthrough again in the 40th minute. Trent delivered another dangerous ball into the box, and Konate attacked it at the near post, but the French centre-back failed to direct his header on target. Madrid had created several promising opportunities without finding the net, leaving the contest finely poised as the teams headed towards half-time.Vinicius Junior began to make his presence felt in the 54th minute, producing a clever pass with the outside of his boot to find Diomande inside the box. The Ivorian, however, failed to take advantage, sending his first-time effort wide. Six minutes later, the Brazilian registered his first shot of the match after cutting inside from a tight angle, but his low effort went straight at Gulacsi, who made a comfortable save.##EDITORS_CHOICE##At the other end, Courtois was called into action in the 61st minute, producing an outstanding double save to deny Gueye twice. The first attempt was particularly dangerous after taking a deflection off Guler, but the Belgian reacted brilliantly to keep the score level.Real Madrid thought they had taken the lead in the 63rd minute when Diomande finished off a move following an excellent pass from Valverde. However, the assistant referee immediately raised his flag for offside, with the decision appearing extremely tight. After a VAR review, though, the goal was eventually awarded, sending the home crowd into celebration. Diomande had scored on his Real Madrid debut, ending the team's goal drought and providing a potentially crucial breakthrough in a match that had been difficult to unlock.Yan Diomande goal in Real Madrid vs Villarreal game. Valverde assist. https://t.co/mwpEntGjPz— Daily Foot Vibes (@dailyfootvibes) October 10, 2026 The hosts almost doubled their advantage moments later. Mbappe produced a brilliant feint to get past his marker before attempting an inventive backheel to set up Bellingham, but the Englishman somehow failed to convert from inside the six-yard box as Gulacsi kept Villarreal in the game.The drama reached another level in the 70th minute. Bellingham powered forward and set up Vinicius, who appeared to have restored parity in the scoring stakes with a goal of his own. The Brazilian kissed the badge before Mourinho sprinted towards him to celebrate. However, the celebrations were short-lived, as the referee began reviewing an incident involving Vinicius and Saliba earlier in the move.Following the review, the goal was ruled out, and Brazilian was shown a straight red card for pulling Saliba's hair. The Brazilian reacted furiously to the decision, leaving Real Madrid facing the remainder of the match with ten men after what had been a chaotic few minutes.🚨🚨| The moment Vinicius pull the Villareal player’s hair. 😳 https://t.co/OZXg8G4jVr— Kalshi FC (@KalshiFC) October 10, 2026 Villarreal immediately sensed an opportunity to take advantage. In the 76th minute, Courtois produced another vital save after Romero's shot rebounded dangerously, preventing the visitors from capitalising on their numerical advantage. Two minutes later, Mbappe had a golden opportunity to settle the contest when Valverde delivered yet another superb assist, but Gulacsi came to Villarreal's rescue with an excellent save using his foot.The visitors continued to search for an equaliser as the clock ticked down. In the 88th minute, Mikautadze controlled the ball with space inside the penalty area and turned before shooting, but his effort went straight at Courtois, who gathered it at the second attempt.Despite the late pressure and the controversy surrounding Vinicius, Real Madrid held on to their advantage. Diomande's debut goal proved decisive in a match that swung dramatically in the second half, while Vinicius' dismissal ensured that the final stages were anything but comfortable for the hosts.LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 8FridayMalaga – Espanyol 1-1 (0-1)/Nino 90+3 – Zaragoza 13/SaturdayAlaves – Atl. Madrid 1-2 (1-1)/Boye 45+6 pen – Grimaldo 33, Romero 87/Barcelona – Getafe 3-0 (2-0)/Gordon 2, Jesus 30, Kounde 73/Real Madrid – Villareal 1-0 (0-0)/Diomande 62/Sunday15.00: (2.80) Elche (3.25) Celta (2.60) 17.15: (1.67) Sociedad (3.70) La Coruna (5.50) 19.30: (1.57) Betis (4.00) Osasuna (6.00) 22.00: (2.30) Santander (3.50) Valencia (3.00)Monday22.00: (2.75) Levante (3.20) Sevilla (2.65)***odds are subject to change***