Real Madrid defeated Villarreal 1-0 in a tense La Liga encounter on Saturday, but the victory was overshadowed by the sending-off of Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior.
The match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium produced seven yellow cards and a red card as Real Madrid struggled to break down their visitors.
Real Madrid wasted several scoring opportunities, with Kylian Mbappe missing a clear chance after being set up by Jude Bellingham.
The French striker also had an effort saved, while Arda Guler fired wide from close range.
Villarreal continued to threaten after the break, forcing Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into two important saves.
The breakthrough finally came in the 62nd minute when Yan Diomande finished calmly from Federico Valverde’s pass, driving the ball into the bottom corner.
Vinicius, who came on as a substitute, thought he had doubled Real Madrid’s advantage after converting Bellingham’s cutback.
However, the goal was ruled out following an incident in which the Brazilian was shown a red card for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair during the build-up.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Real Madrid held on to secure three points and return to winning ways.
The result left Jose Mourinho’s side third in the table with 18 points from eight matches, six points behind leaders Barcelona, according to the report.
Barcelona maintained their perfect start to the league campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Getafe at the Camp Nou.
Anthony Gordon, Gabriel Jesus and Jules Kounde were credited with the goals as Barcelona recorded their eighth consecutive league victory.
The Catalan side also matched their best start to a La Liga season since 2013, underlining their strong early-season form.
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