Yan Diomandé earned Real Madrid a tight 1-0 victory over Villarreal to keep them six points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, even though winger Vinícius Júnior was sent off for hair pulling.

Vinícius, on as a substitute, scored but his goal was disallowed and then he was dismissed after a VAR review showed he had pulled the hair of Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba.

José Mourinho’s side battled through the final stages with 10 men, holding on to win and provisionally going third. But the red card left a bitter taste for Real, with Vinícius running the risk of a potential ban which could keep him out of El Clásico on 25 October.

“I don’t know what’s going on with the referees, with this red card, I don’t understand,” said the Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni. “But the most important thing is the victory.”

Kylian Mbappé was fit to start the match for Madrid after suffering a knee problem playing for France during the international break. There were a smattering of whistles for the superstar forward, with some fans believing he has been unprofessional in recent weeks, but also applause from others.

Mbappé, a candidate for the Ballon d’Or trophy later this month, was Madrid’s most threatening player in the first half, although he had little competition.

Mourinho started with out-of-form Vinícius on the bench, following his trips to Australia and India with Brazil during the international break.

Madrid improved defensively, giving Villarreal few chances of note, but struggled to build much in attack themselves in a drab opening half.

Mbappé struck the post from Álvaro Carreras’s lay-off as Madrid pushed Villarreal back early on. Villarreal soon gained a foothold and restricted Madrid’s opportunities, until Mbappé forced a good save from Peter Gulacsi.

There was some more mild whistling for Madrid’s display from their fans at half-time, but soon they were able to celebrate summer arrival Diomandé’s first goal for the club. The Ivorian winger, Madrid’s record signing, produced a sharp low finish into the far corner after good work from Federico Valverde to play him in.

Vinícius thought he had doubled Madrid’s lead after Jude Bellingham charged in down the left and cut the ball back for him. However the winger’s joy turned to anger after the referee, Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos, was called to watch Vinícius’s hair pull on Saliba in the buildup by VAR and sent off the Brazilian, disallowing his goal.

Madrid’s Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who had made a couple of smart saves earlier in the half, then produced an acrobatic stop to thwart Carlos Romero.

Mbappé was denied again by the Hungarian goalkeeper Gulasci as the forward left the Bernabéu frustrated in his hunt for goals, although his team were able to clinch three important points to stay on Barcelona’s trail.