Yan Diomande scored again for Real Madrid after almost six months without a goal, and his goal against Villarreal opened the door to a possible starting position under the direction of José Mourinho. The Ivorian striker scored in the 62nd minute, becoming the first to score since leaving Leipzig in April. The goal came after a leaked pass from Fede Valverde, and although it was initially disallowed for offside, the VAR confirmed that Diomande's position was legal, allowing the goal to remain on the scoreboard.
The 19-year-old was the surprise of Mourinho's starting eleven, who decided to sit Vinícius and give him his third appearance in the starting lineup since his arrival at the club. Diomande started the game on the left wing, a position he had not used frequently in Madrid. During the match he demonstrated his ability to overflow and be aggressive, although his crosses did not always find Kylian Mbappé, who is not a pure center forward. The Ivorian attempted two shots and had an 86% success rate in his passes, becoming the second white player who touched the ball the most and, along with Mbappé, the one who did so the most inside the rival area.
In the microphones of Real Madrid TV, Diomande expressed his satisfaction for having scored his first goal for the white club: "I was waiting for that first goal for a long time. I am happy, both for myself and for the team. In that position I think the only option was to control, turn and shoot." He added that the match had been good and that they always play to win, and that the Bernabéu stadium is the most beautiful in the world and the club is the largest, which makes him excited to play there.
The forward had not scored since April 18, when he was still playing for Leipzig in the Bundesliga. On that occasion he opened the scoring in the 27th minute of a 1‑3 against Eintracht Frankfurt. Since then, he has appeared in four games for the German club, eight with the Ivory Coast team and nine with Real Madrid (eight official and one friendly), without seeing the goal. With Vinícius' expulsion for grabbing Saliba's hair, the Brazilian faces a possible ban of up to three games, increasing the possibility of Diomande becoming a starter.
The striker has already earned his first appearance in the starting XI against Villarreal and now has the opportunity to establish himself in Mourinho's lineup. The schedule ahead includes the Champions League against Rome, a Spanish League match against Sevilla at the Bernabéu, a European match against Leipzig, his former team, and the classic against Barcelona at the end of October. With these commitments, Diomande will have the chance to prove his worth and secure a permanent place in the Real Madrid squad.