Neither control nor many chances helped Real Madrid against Real Betis after Jose Mourinho’s men lacked a decisive final touch as the team suffered a heavy blow in the closing minutes to go down 1-0 at Parrott in their first defeat of the season just days before their Champions League campaign kicked off.
Mourinho warned his players ahead of the game of the difficulty of the clash, stressing that victory against Betis would require Real Madrid to be at their best, which they failed to achieve despite the Royals’ strong start.
Real Madrid came into the match with plenty of attacking pressure and Kylian Mbappé almost opened the scoring early on, before Alvaro Valles stood out for Dean Howesn’s powerful strike in the 13th minute.
Two minutes later, Vinicius Junior came close to scoring, but the post was blocked by Brazil star Arda Guler’s special pass.
Betis tried to threaten Thibaut Courtois’s goal from time to time, with Anthony the most visible source of danger, but the most dangerous moments fell in favor of the visitors.
In the 44th minute, Mbappe squandered a precious opportunity after Weiss twice hit his shot in one attack, before Heisen came back to fire the ball over the bar in first-half stoppage time.
The odds are stacked against Real Madrid
After the break, Mbappe continued to look for the lead and fired a shot that went wide of the post, but Real Madrid gradually began to lose control as the home side began to gain more confidence.
Mourinho moved several of his attacking players, including Bernardo Silva, Ian Diomande and Trent Alexander-Arnold, in pursuit of Tye Breyer, but the changes did not give the team the results they were looking for.
With Real Madrid punishing themselves for squandering chances, Betis were dealt a fatal blow in the 81st minute when Parrott took advantage of a clearance after Courtois had blocked a corner to give the hosts the lead and light up the stands at La Cartuja Stadium.
Real Madrid tried to save the game in the closing minutes and Espey thought he had equalized but the referee disallowed the goal for offside before Mbappe scored a penalty in the 90+5th minute to end a miserable night for the Royals.
Real Madrid thus paid a heavy price for squandering the opportunity and Mourinho and his side suffered their first defeat of the season, a blow that came before the team’s Champions League campaign had begun.
Betis, on the other hand, pulled off one of the most notable surprises of the round after securing a valuable win at the Royals’ expense.
