Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior sent off for pulling Villarreal player’s hair in 1-0 La Liga victory.
Published On 10 Oct 202610 Oct 2026
Yan Diomande earned Real Madrid a tight 1-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday to keep them six points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, even though winger Vinicius Junior was sent off for hair-pulling.
Brazil international Vinicius, on as a substitute, scored, but his goal was disallowed. He was then dismissed after a VAR review showed he had pulled the hair of Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba.
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Jose Mourinho’s Madrid battled through the final stages with 10 men but held on to win and go provisionally third.
Champions Barca lead La Liga after a 3-0 win over Getafe, while Atletico Madrid are five points behind in second after they edged Alaves 2-1.
Striker Kylian Mbappe was fit to start the match for Madrid at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium after suffering a knee problem playing for France during the international break.
There was a smattering of whistles for the superstar forward, with some fans believing he has been unprofessional in recent weeks, but also applause from other supporters.
Mbappe, 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 winger Vinicius 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.
Mbappe struck the post from Alvaro Carreras’s layoff as Madrid pushed Villarreal back early on.
Villarreal soon gained a foothold and restricted Madrid’s opportunities, until Mbappe forced a good save from Peter Gulacsi.
There was some more mild whistling for Madrid’s display from their fans at half-time, but they were soon able to celebrate summer arrival Diomande’s first goal for the club.
The Ivorian winger, Madrid’s record 140 million euro ($157m) signing, produced a sharp low finish into the far corner after good work from Federico Valverde to play him in.
Vinicius 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 referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called to watch Vinicius’s hair pull on Saliba in the buildup by VAR and sent off the Brazilian, voiding the goal.
Madrid’s Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who had made a couple of smart saves earlier in the half, produced an acrobatic stop to thwart Carlos Romero.
Mbappe was denied again by Hungarian goalkeeper Gulasci as the forward left the Bernabeu frustrated in his hunt for goals, although his team were able to clinch three important points to stay on Barca’s trail.
Frankie Bridge was forced to pull out of Paris Fashion Week last-minute after a brutal anxiety spiral left her bed-bound and unable to function properly.
The Saturdays singer, 37, revealed she had a “dark day” last week that left her in floods of tears before collapsing into bed for the entire rest of the day.
Frankie also said she has been suffering anxiety-related heart palpitations for the last six months and admitted she had not been eating or sleeping enough.
The mum-of-two had been due to travel to Paris for Fashion Week, which ends on Tuesday, but had to cancel the trip after it began triggering health issues.
Speaking in her YouTube vlog on Monday, Frankie explained: “Paris is like my favourite place, and it’s like my favourite part of fashion week, but it was just giving me anxiety.
The singer, who was due to attend one of the shows as a guest, said she spoke to her agent, who told her the trip was “just not worth it”.
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She added: “At the same time, I feel relieved, but also so disappointed and annoyed.”
Her decision came after a punishing few weeks including a trip to New York and her Faves Live runway event during London Fashion Week.
Frankie said sons Parker, 12, and Carter, 11 – her kids with her husband, ex-footballer Wayne Bridge, 46 – had returned to school, while a family member was “really really sick”.
She admitted: “I think I just didn’t realise how stressed I was and how tired and overwhelmed I was. And I just haven’t had a break or a moment to stop and think about any of it.”
The Loose Women star said: “I was really scared this week that I was heading towards burnout.
“On the way home from filming something on Wednesday, I basically cried the whole way home. I just haven’t been able to function. I think it just finished me off. That was a really dark day.”
Frankie said she had kept turning up for work but felt other parts of her life were slipping.
She revealed Carter went to school at the wrong time one day, adding: “I try and be the best mum that I can be, best friend, best wife, whatever.”
Frankie also revealed her physical health had taken a knock after falling ill. Describing the exhaustion, she said it felt like she had been “hit by a bus”.
She added: “I’ve had heart palpitations all day today, which is like a new thing for me like the last six months if I’m anxious or anything.”
Frankie also admitted stress had affected her appetite. She said: “I think I’ve just not been looking after myself.
“I think I’ve been really stressed, really busy, which I love. I thrive under pressure and stress, but it kind of came with not being hungry.
“So, I probably haven’t been eating enough. I haven’t been sleeping enough.”
Frankie has previously spoken openly about depression and anxiety and spending time in a psychiatric hospital aged 21.
She has also undergone ketamine-assisted therapy for her mental health.
She added: “This is just the reality of trying to do it all. You just can’t. And sometimes something’s got to give. And this week, that something was me.”
PHILADELPHIA — It’s rarely sunny in Philadelphia for Sean McVay and the Rams.
Before Sunday’s game against the Eagles, McVay was 1-6 against them, 1-4 at Lincoln Financial Field and 0-4 against Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.
The last time the Rams visited here, the Eagles blocked a field-goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown on the final play.
And for much of the game Sunday, gloom once again engulfed McVay and a team that opened the season as a heavy Super Bowl favorite.
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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in their 24-20 comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
But it finally lifted midway through the fourth quarter, with quarterback Matthew Stafford leading two touchdown drives that gave the Rams a come-from-behind, 24-20 victory.
“A lot of gutsy efforts,” McVay said, “and I have a headache from hell right now.”
No doubt stress-induced.
While McVay enjoyed watching Kyren Williams rush for two touchdowns and receiver Puka Nacua rush for another, the Rams had to overcome turnovers, penalties and special teams miscues to improve to 2-2.
After sitting out two games because of a hip injury, Nacua caught nine passes for 125 yards, several during the final two scoring drives.
“I’m excited to get on this plane and get up out of here,” Nacua said. “Hopefully, they have some Philly cheesesteaks for us.”
The Rams had mostly had their fill of Philadelphia after losing an NFC divisional game here in 2024 and last year’s debacle that ended with the blocked field goal and touchdown.
“We obviously haven’t found a way to get it done here,” McVay said, “and our guys found a way today.”
Rams players celebrate with Kyren Williams following one of his two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Eagles on Sunday.
(Chris Szagola / Associated Press)
The Rams can thank their defense.
The Eagles were without receiver DeVonta Smith and left tackle Lane Johnson, and star running back Saquon Barkley left the game in the first quarter after suffering a hamstring injury.
The Eagles were 0 for 12 on third downs. They converted only one of four fourth downs and managed just 172 yards.
“When it was the time for us to make a play, the defense stepped up,” said edge rusher Byron Young, who had 2½ of the Rams’ four sacks, “and we had to do what we do.”
Despite their elation over Sunday’s victory, the Rams have plenty to fix.
Stafford was great down the stretch but otherwise did not look like the reigning NFL most valuable player. He completed 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards with two interceptions.
The Rams, historically one of the league’s least-penalized teams under McVay, had 13 penalties for 91 yards in last Sunday’s 30-26 defeat by the Denver Broncos. On Sunday, they were flagged eight times for 100 yards.
“Any way you could shoot yourself in the foot — we were doing it on the offensive side of the ball,” Stafford said.
Special teams also continued to be an issue. The Rams gave up a long punt return that set up a touchdown, and usually reliable kicker Harrison Mevis missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt.
But the defense kept the Rams within striking distance.
“You’d like to see [us] play as a team where you go and score, and then hold ‘em, score and hold ‘em and score,” receiver Davante Adams said. “But sometimes that’s not how it plays out.
“[The defense] did their thing to put us in a position to win it, and we went down there and finished the job.”
The Rams trailed, 20-10, at halftime, as the Eagles turned two interceptions into 10 points, and Jalen Hurts tossed two touchdown passes to receiver Darius Cooper.
After Mevis missed, it got uglier.
Near the end of the third quarter, it finally looked like the Rams’ defense would be rewarded for a good play: It stopped Hurts on a fourth-down tush push, giving the offense a first down at the Eagles’ 38-yard line.
But Nacua’s penalty for an illegal block stymied the possession, and Stafford’s fourth-down pass for tight end Tyler Higbee fell incomplete.
McVay rallied the offense on the sideline.
“He said, ‘Make things go. Wipe it. Get to the next play,’” Higbee said.
Stafford said McVay was “trying to put some belief” in the team.
“I think we had it,” Stafford said, “but it was great to hear from him.”
The defense came up big again, stopping the Eagles on downs at the Rams’ two-yard line.
On came Stafford, who ranks fourth all time in fourth-quarter comebacks.
“We call it the Mamba period,” said Williams, who rushed for 80 yards in 15 carries and had 10 receptions for 67 yards. “We knew we had to get things done. … Matthew, man, he got us all together. He said ‘Let’s freakin’ do it’ and we did the dang thing.”
Stafford engineered a nine-play, 98-yard drive that Williams finished with a one-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 20-17 with less than four minutes left.
Stafford got the ball back with 2:55 left at the Rams’ 21-yard line. He connected with Nacua three times and Higbee once before Williams scored on a seven-yard run with 1:10 remaining.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford slides after running the ball against the Eagles on Sunday.
(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
The play included Williams’ trademark second and third efforts.
“I wasn’t looking at any defender,” Williams said. “I wasn’t looking at any blocks. I was just having that smell, that nose for the end zone.”
Next up: Josh Allen and the 3-1 Buffalo Bills, a 29-26 loser Sunday against the New England Patriots.
The Rams will go into the game a .500 team riding the high of a comeback victory rather than trying to get out of a 1-3 hole.
At some point, the Rams will welcome back edge rusher Myles Garrett, defensive lineman Aaron Donald, who sat out because of a sore back, and tight end Terrance Ferguson, who like Garrett is on injured reserve. They are still more than capable of becoming the team that was hyped throughout the offseason.
So Sunday’s victory — rather than another loss in Philadelphia — could pay dividends.
“Hopefully,” Stafford said, “it was really important come later in the year.”
The dominant rushing attack that earned them four lopsided wins to start the season was more methodical than punishing, but Cleveland High still ground out a 24-18 nonleague victory Friday over host Crenshaw.
The Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with the win, while the Cougars fell to 4-2.
Cleveland, which entered the game averaging 258 yards rushing per game, were held to barely more than 200 on Friday, most of them scored by senior running back Moyosoreoluwa Odebunmi, who rushed for two scores.
The loss spoiled the season debut of Crenshaw’s Ethan Grant. The transfer from Los Angeles High threw two touchdowns in his first game for the Cougars, but a fumble in the end zone erased one potential score, and three consecutive dropped passes on Crenshaw’s final drive of the game prevented a comeback.
Crenshaw dominated early, Caden Baker stripping the ball from Odebunmi near midfield on Cleveland’s first possession and scoring on the 50-yard fumble return. On the Cougars’ next possession, Grant threaded a pass through two Cavalier defenders, finding Kyion Rattler for an apparent 55-yard score. But Rattler fumbled right before crossing the goal line, turning the ball over That’s when Odebunmi reeled off his best run of the night, a 58-yarder down the right sideline, to tie the score 6-6.
After Grant’s 60-yard score to Rattler put the Cougars up 12-6, Cleveland drove 80 yards in 12 plays, keyed by three completions by quarterback Domenik Fuentes and punctuated by Joseph Hurtado’s one-yard touchdown run. After the two-point conversion, Cleveland led 14-12.
Three plays later, Crenshaw took the lead again on a 21-yard strike from Grant to Joshua Jones. But the Cougars failed on their third two-point conversion of the first half, which ended with them leading 18-14.
Neither offense did much in the second half after Cleveland scored on its first play from scrimmage, a 32-yard touchdown by Odebunmi. Crenshaw was limited to two first downs in the second half while Cleveland added a safety by Cobe Green early in the fourth quarter to make the score 24-18.
“First half we shot ourselves in the foot a good number of times” Cleveland coach Mario Guzman said. “Our biggest thing is we want to play disciplined and we were a little undisciplined in that first half. So we challenged ourselves at halftime to get back to our roots, to be disciplined, physical and fast. And we really rose to the occasion in the second.”
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U.S. grain markets clawed back from early losses Friday after U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said details from President Trump’s meeting with China’s President Xi will be released on Monday.
CBOT grains had tumbled after the summit in Washington
