Real Madrid ground out a precious win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday evening, a single unanswered goal settling the eighth round of the Spanish league.
Neither side could find the net in the first half.
The breakthrough came on 62 minutes. Ivorian Yan Diomande steered home the only goal of the match, latching onto a pass from Fede Valverde.
From the 74th minute, Madrid played a man down after substitute Vinicius Junior was sent off.
The win lifted Real Madrid to 18 points and third place in La Liga, while Villarreal stayed stuck on 8 points in tenth.
The "AS newspaper" picked over the key moments of a match in which Real Madrid were the better side, before Vinicius saw red, yet held on for the victory. Villarreal, for their part, lacked just enough of a cutting edge to avoid leaving the Bernabeu empty-handed.
Valverde won the ball back at least three times in the first quarter of an hour, taking it upon himself to snuff out Villarreal's attacks while pressing hard up the pitch. The visitors faced Madrid with real courage, and when the tide turned the post came to their rescue, keeping out a volley from Mbappe after Guler had started the move.
Madrid needed a quick goal. Their performance was far from bad, but the breakthrough was slow in coming. A few refereeing calls stoked the tension too, no foul given for Mbappe and a deserved booking waved away for Cardona.
On top of the toothless finishing, Madrid had a problem down the left, where Ilias kept getting the better of Carreras. Little wonder, then, that Cucurella came on at the start of the second half.
Over on the other flank, Diomande had Fresneda for direct company. He skipped past him with ease, but the decisive pass eluded him at the crucial moment.
Madrid also failed to make the most of Arda Guler's gift for reading the game, while Trent Alexander-Arnold looked a different player, pinging long balls and dictating the tempo with his usual class.
Looking to change the shape of the game, Valverde shifted to the right while Guler dropped into a more central role that suits him far better. The second switch went further. On came Vinicius Junior, charged with adrenaline, as Diomande moved across to the other side and the Brazilian took up his natural position.
Madrid grew into it, sharper, more direct and more threatening, though they also looked more exposed at the back.
Right in the thick of it, Diomande struck. He turned brilliantly to finish an attack Valverde had led from the flank. The goal stood only after a VAR review, with referee Diaz de Mera having first flagged it for an offside that was not there.
Madrid thought they had a second from a move involving three players: Tchouameni winning the ball back, Bellingham surging forward and Vinicius applying the finish. One thing soured the celebration. Vinicius had tugged Saliba by the hair in the build-up, so the goal was chalked off and the Brazilian shown a red card.
From that point, Madrid were put through the wringer. Villarreal pressed relentlessly and Mbappe lost his spark inside the box. Jude Bellingham embodied his side's resilience with a heroic battle.