Diomande's first Real Madrid goal and Vinícius red card leave Madrid chasing Barcelona

Real Madrid beat Villarreal 1–0 at the Bernabéu on 10 October 2026, and the margin of the result tells you most of what you need to know about where José Mourinho's side currently stand. Yan Diomande, handed a start on the left flank, scored his first goal for the club in the 62nd minute, turning and firing into the far corner from a Federico Valverde ball.

Vinícius Júnior, on as a substitute, had a goal disallowed in the 72nd minute after a VAR review found he had pulled the hair of Villarreal's Nathan Saliba in the build-up. He was then sent off, leaving Madrid to see out the closing stages with ten men. Villarreal pushed; Madrid held on. The win kept them in the title chase, provisionally third, but the reports differ on the precise gap to Barcelona. Al Jazeera put Madrid six points behind the leaders after the win. The SI report noted that when Madrid kicked off, they were nine points behind.

The raw figures from this match sit awkwardly alongside the idea of a controlled home performance. Villarreal had 54 per cent of possession and 15 shots to Madrid's 11. Both sides managed four shots on target. Madrid's expected goals figure was 0.95; Villarreal's was 0.62.

Set against Madrid's earlier 2026/27 matches in all competitions, the attacking output here was modest. Their 0.95 xG compares with an average of 2.55; their open-play xG of 0.92 compares with 1.92. They managed 28 touches in the opposition box against an average of 39.4. Kylian Mbappé hit the post early, and the first half was slow, with home fans whistling.

Diomande's goal was his first for Real Madrid, and the reporting describes him as visibly emotional afterwards. He was given a chance from the start, with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the line-up and Valverde captaining.

What is clearer is the pattern of Madrid's domestic season so far. The results before and including this match, oldest first: a 1–0 defeat at Real Betis, a 2–1 Champions League win over Inter, a 4–1 win over Rayo Vallecano, a 3–2 win at Elche, a 2–1 defeat at Atlético Madrid, and now this 1–0 win over Villarreal.

For now, the takeaway is narrow but real. Madrid won because a teenager took the one big chance that separated the sides, and they survived because ten men held on after Vinícius's red card.