With an unusual red card for Vinícius for pulling a rival's hair: Real Madrid beat Villarreal and move into third place in LaLiga

Real Madrid can breathe again in LaLiga. The merengue side, with more doubts than certainties about how they're playing, beat Villarreal 1-0 and allows themselves to keep stalking Barcelona. The match against the Yellow Submarine was marked by Yan Diomande's first goal, but also by the unusual red card Vinícius received after pulling a rival's hair in the middle of a counterattack that ended in what would have been a 2-0 lead. Vinícius, from hero to villain It had been turbulent weeks at the White House. The latest stumble in the derby against Atlético, just before the FIFA date break, combined with the controversies over the underperforming Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius, had José Mourinho against the ropes. The Portuguese coach was being questioned, especially for his methods of controlling the locker room. However, the Portuguese hoped all those rumors of division would dissipate at the Santiago Bernabéu against the Yellow Submarine. With that mission of healing wounds, Madrid started with a sharp version of themselves, with the aforementioned Mbappé as their main offensive agent. The French striker hit the post at the 6th minute, while at the 20th he squandered a chance in front of the opposing goalkeeper. In the second half he struggled a bit more in creating play, so the merengue side had to turn to a Vini who was waiting for his opportunity from the bench. The Brazilian's entrance was, in a way, positive, because he helped drag defenders and put his teammates in better goal-scoring positions. This was demonstrated in the opening of the scoring, where Yan Diomande had all the time in the world to make it 1-0. The Ivorian, who had arrived as a marquee signing in the last transfer window, scored his first goal in the Madrid shirt and is gradually beginning to pay off the 140 million euros his transfer cost. Although the goal was disallowed for a nonexistent offside, the African was able to celebrate after the review. Vinícius's entrance was going to be even happier when he scored a 2-0 that seemed to seal the match. The carioca had pushed the ball in after a great run by Jude Bellingham. However, the Brazilian went from heaven to hell in a matter of seconds. This was because, at the start of the play, he pulled the hair of Canadian Nathan Saliba and was shown the red card. The striker, known for his constant disputes with referees, went crazy at the main referee and even hurled harsh words at him on his way off to the locker rooms. With the striker's sending-off, Real Madrid suffered to hold onto the result that puts them back in third place, six points behind leader Barcelona. The Catalans, in the early match this Saturday, thrashed Getafe 3-0 and maintain a perfect campaign with 24 points in eight matchdays. NEWSLETTER El Deportivo Monday, 8:45 AM A special selection with coverage and analysis of the most important sporting events of the weekend, by the La Tercera sports team. By subscribing you are accepting the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies of La Tercera.