Vinicius apologises for red card as Mourinho skips Real Madrid press conference

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Vinicius Junior apologised to Real Madrid after being sent off for a hair pull in their 1-0 win over Villarreal.

Madrid got back to winning ways in LaLiga, edging past Villarreal thanks to Yan Diomande's first goal for the club in the second half.

However, the win was marred by Vinicius' sending-off. The Brazilian thought he had added a second goal for Jose Mourinho's side, but it was ruled out, and he was instead shown a red card for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up.

Vinicius had started the match on the bench – having been replaced in the starting XI by Diomande – with his cameo lasting just 20 minutes after he was introduced shortly after half-time.

The red card was classed as violent conduct, meaning he could miss El Clasico on October 25.

"The joy continues. My apologies to my team and the fans," Vinicius posted on social media.

Vinicius' Madrid team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni was in disbelief at the referee's decision following the game, telling Real Madrid TV: "I don't understand what's happening with the referees, with the red card. I don't understand it."

Following the incident, Mourinho also opted to skip his post-match press conference.

A post shared by Vinicius Jr.  (@vinijr)

Despite finishing the match with 10 men, Madrid saw out a win that moved them up to third in LaLiga, with Diomande opening his account for Los Blancos.

Along with his match-winner, Diomande also had the joint-most touches in the box of any Madrid player (seven), created the joint-most chances (three), won the joint-most duels (six) and attempted the second-most dribbles (five).

"It was a good match; we always play to win, and we did that. I'm very happy with the victory," he said.

"It's always great to play at the Bernabeu—the most beautiful stadium in the world and the biggest club.

"Of course, I'm happy; I'd been waiting for that first goal for a long time. In that position, I think the only option was to control, turn, and shoot. That's what I did.

"I'm really excited to play in the Champions League; it's every kid's dream, and I'm very grateful to be doing it with Madrid."

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