Vinícius sent off for hair pull as Madrid edge Villarreal 1-0

Real Madrid beat Villarreal 1-0 at the Bernabéu on 10 October, with Yan Diomandé scoring the winner and Vinícius Júnior sent off for pulling an opponent’s hair. It finished 1-0. Madrid held on with 10 men. The Guardian

The only goal came from Diomandé, the Ivorian winger who joined Madrid in the summer as the club’s record signing. A winger is a wide attacker, usually tasked with beating a full-back and creating chances. Federico Valverde set him up, and Diomandé finished for his first goal for the club.

Kylian Mbappé started the match after a knee problem suffered while playing for France. José Mourinho’s side needed the win to stay in touch at the top. Victory put Madrid provisionally third in La Liga, still six points behind leaders Barcelona.

Vinícius Júnior began the game on the bench. He came on as a substitute and thought he had scored after Jude Bellingham cut the ball back for him, only for the goal to be disallowed.

Then came the red card. In the 72nd minute, Vinícius pulled the hair of Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba. Referee Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos reviewed the incident with VAR, the video system used to check key decisions, and sent the Brazilian off. Madrid finished the match with 10 men. The Guardian

Villarreal saw it as a clear offence. The club’s official report described Vinícius’s hair-pull on Saliba as an assault carried out in an unsportsmanlike manner. Villarreal CF

Madrid defended the last 18 minutes plus stoppage time without conceding. For a team down to 10, that meant compact defending and little attacking threat.

Vinícius now risks a ban that could rule him out of El Clásico, the meeting of Real Madrid and Barcelona, on 25 October. The length of any suspension will be confirmed in due course.

What makes this stand out is the contrast. One young forward will remember this night for his first Madrid goal. Another, one of the most famous players in the world, will remember it for a moment of lost temper.