Real Madrid 1-0 Villarreal Player Ratings: Yan Diomande's Solitary Goal Proves Decisive As Los Blancos Survive Scare Despite Vinicius' Red Card

Real Madrid took on Villarreal in La Liga on their return from the international break, as players from both sides looked to shake off the rust from no club football action. The first half was quite a cagey affair, where neither team could find a way through.

One of the best strikers in the world currently, Kylian Mbappé had the best numbers among the attackers, with a personal xG of 0.42. He clipped the crossbar once and forced a save from Péter Gulácsi; apart from that, Los Blancos had little success in front of goal.

Villarreal CF did look menacing on the counter-attacks despite having an xG of 0.08, but long-range efforts from Pape Gueye and Alberto Moleiro were way off target. The home team was the recipient of jeers as they headed into the tunnel, with the fans making their feelings clear about an absolute snooze-fest.

Real Madrid did up their game in the second half with substitutions, with Vinicius Jr. catching the eye the most. Los Blancos got their lead in the 62nd minute, when Fede Valverde nudged one in through for Yan Diomande, and the 19-year-old finished it on an instinctive turn at the far post, but much to his dismay, the linesman had his flag up for offside.

A brief VAR check overturned the decision, and the winger from Ivory Coast was delighted with his first goal in the Royal White shirt, ending in tears of joy at the end of his celebrations. The hosts thought that they bagged the second goal through Vinicius Jr., but a VAR check revealed that he pulled Nathan Saliba's hair on the way forward, resulting in a direct red card for the Brazilian.

In the end, Los Blancos indeed managed to hold their lead, but they would be worried about the immediate future for one of their star performers, who could risk missing out on the El Clásico.

Here are the Real Madrid vs Villarreal Player Ratings.

Key Takeaways

• Yan Diomande and Federico Valverde both created the most chances in this match (3).
• Alex Freeman recorded the most defensive contributions (18).
• Kylian Mbappé completed the most dribbles (4) and also had the most number of touches in the opposition box as Diomande (7).

Real Madrid Player Ratings vs Villarreal

Check out the Real Madrid Player Ratings from the Real Madrid vs Villarreal Player Ratings.

Villarreal Player Ratings vs Real Madrid

Read the Villarreal Player Ratings from the Real Madrid vs Villarreal Player Ratings here.

Man of the Match

Yan Diomande was adjudged Sportsdunia's man of the match in this La Liga encounter.

Worst Performer

Vinícius Júnior was the worst of the lot from Real Madrid vs Villarreal due to his horrible action on Nathan Saliba, which got him set off.