Mbappe misses late penalty as Betis hand Real Madrid first defeat of season
Real Madrid suffered their first defeat of the season after Kylian Mbappe missed a stoppage-time penalty in a dramatic 1-0 loss to Real Betis.
Troy Parrott’s late goal was enough to reward a stubborn Betis display and extend Los Verdiblancos’ unbeaten home run to 5 matches.
Match highlight
Real Madrid started with real intent. Jose Mourinho’s side dominated the early stages and tried to quiet the home crowd quickly. Dean Huijsen had the first clear chance, stretching to meet the ball but only managing to send it straight into Alvaro Valles’ hands.
Betis then rode their luck. A slick move between Mbappe and Arda Guler ended with the post coming to the home side’s rescue, before Vinicius Junior struck the woodwork from a tight angle.
Antony became their brightest attacking outlet, winning corners and forcing Thibaut Courtois into a flying near-post save. At the other end, Betis continued to defend with remarkable commitment.
Just before half-time, both Natan and Marc Bartra made vital goal-line blocks to stop Mbappe after Vinicius had unselfishly set him up. Madrid looked certain to score, but Betis somehow kept the ball out.
Mbappe went close again shortly after the restart with a curling effort that drifted wide, but Madrid gradually lost their grip on the game.
Betis offered little attacking threat for much of the second half, yet they remained organised and difficult to break down. Mourinho grew increasingly frustrated and made a triple substitution just after the hour mark in search of a breakthrough.
Instead, it was Manuel Pellegrini’s changes that made the difference. With 10 minutes remaining, Nelson Deossa met a corner with a header that Courtois brilliantly saved, but Parrott reacted fastest to the rebound and finished from close range to send the home crowd wild.
Carlos Espi thought he had equalised for Madrid, only for VAR to rule the goal out. Then Natan made an unnecessary clumsy challenge on Vinicius inside the box, giving Madrid a huge chance to rescue a point in stoppage time.
Mbappe stepped up. But his slow run-up ended with a poor penalty that Valles saved, securing all 3 points for Betis.
The win takes Betis level at the top of LaLiga on 9 points alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona, while Mourinho has now suffered his first defeat since returning for a second spell in charge of Los Blancos.
It is far from ideal preparation for Madrid’s Champions League opener against one of Mourinho’s former clubs, Inter Milan.
