**Real Madrid 1-0 Villarreal** _(Diomand_e_)._ A hard fought victory with ten men_..._ This is the immediate reaction. Still to come: Player ratings, interviews and a podcast.
After a very long international break, Real Madrid were straight back into action against Villarreal in La Liga - and Yan Diomande was given a chance form the start. Trent Alexander-Arnold was also in the line-up, deployed behind Yan - as Fede Valverde captained the team.
Kylian Mbappé hit the post early, triggering the excitement of fans eager to see some action - but that was pretty much all the would get during the first-half (other than Arda Güler coming close at the end). A slow reintroduction to club football. 0-0 at the break.
The second-half was not much better, but Yan Diomande did grab his first goal for the club after a VAR review sided with Los Blancos. Vinícius Júnior looked to do the same, but VAR wasn’t having any of that, opting to send the Brazilian off instead for a foul made before the goal. Real Madrid buckled in for a tough closing stage, but fortunately the away side were not able to muster up enough to challenge the result. 1-0 to Real Madrid at full-time. Thoughts?
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