La Liga witnessed a strange and unprecedented incident on Saturday evening, with Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior at its centre after the Brazilian was sent off against Villarreal in the eighth round.
Yan Diomande settled the contest. The Ivorian struck in the 62nd minute to hand Real Madrid a 1-0 win.
Trouble flared in the 72nd minute. The referee disallowed a Vinicius goal and sent him off for an off-the-ball assault on Villarreal's Nathan Salisu in the build-up, the Brazilian yanking his opponent forcefully by the hair. That left the Royal club to play around 20 minutes with ten men.
Statistics account "Mister Chip" flagged just how rare the moment was: "For the first time since the use of video technology in La Liga, a goalscorer is sent off and his goal is disallowed in the same move".
The win lifts Real Madrid temporarily to third in the table on 16 points. Sevilla are up next in the ninth round.