Real Madrid ground out a 1-0 win over Villarreal in the eighth round of the Spanish league, but the three points couldn't stop tensions flaring inside the royal club. Vinicius Junior's sending-off stole the spotlight and sparked a wave of anger at the officiating, with the Brazilian star now facing a potential Clasico absence.
José Mourinho's men laboured to break down Villarreal's organised defence despite the chances Kylian Mbappé created. The breakthrough came in the 60th minute. Federico Valverde slipped the ball to Yann Diomande, who drilled a well-placed low shot into the net for his first goal in a Real Madrid shirt, cutting the gap to Atlético Madrid to a single point.
Joy quickly turned to frustration. The referee disallowed a second goal from Vinicius Junior, scored on a counter-attack led by Jude Bellingham, after VAR spotted the Brazilian winger deliberately pulling Nathan Saliba's hair at the start of the move.
Díaz de Mera wasted no time. He chalked off the goal and sent the player packing, leaving Real to see out the final minutes with ten men. Things boiled over when Vinicius nearly squared up to referee Isidro Díaz de Mera, only for Antonio Rüdiger to step in and calm the situation.
The decision triggered fury inside the royal club. Real Madrid's official channel launched a sharp attack on the officiating, questioning why VAR intervened on the Vinicius sending-off yet failed to review other challenges it branded strong, among them Lee Kang-in's foul on Valverde and an incident in which Dean Huijsen caught an elbow.
Aurélien Tchouaméni aired his frustration after the final whistle too. "I don't understand what is happening with the referees and this red card," he said. Mourinho made no secret of his anger at the decisions throughout the game, and Spanish press reports suggested he skipped the post-match press conference for fear of landing a heavy suspension over his comments.
The timing could hardly be worse. Real Madrid are preparing for a tricky European tie against Roma in a charged dressing room, according to the French website "Foot Mercato".
Vinicius, already enduring a turbulent start to the season, now faces a fresh blow. The red card threatens to rule him out of the Clasico against Barcelona in two weeks' time, depending on the length of the ban he receives.
Mourinho celebrated Diomande's goal with his players, but by the end of the night the Vinicius crisis dominated everything. Its fallout could reach one of the biggest matches of the season.