Seville (GNP): Real Madrid’s perfect start to the La Liga season came to an end on Friday as Troy Parrott scored his first goal for Real Betis in a 1-0 win, with Kylian Mbappe missing a late penalty that would have salvaged a point for Jose Mourinho’s side. Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles denied Mbappe from the spot deep into stoppage time, sealing a result that ended Real’s run of three straight victories to open the campaign under Mourinho in his second spell in charge.
The match at Estadio La Cartuja had chances at both ends before the decisive moment arrived. Vinicius Junior struck the post in the first half after Arda Guler’s pass cut across the face of goal, while Mbappe was denied twice by last-ditch blocks from Natan and Marc Bartra during a rapid Real counter-attack. Betis took the lead against the run of play nine minutes before half-time when Parrott converted the rebound after Thibaut Courtois had made a strong save to deny Nelson Deossa’s header.
Parrott, a Republic of Ireland striker who joined Betis last month on a five-year deal following his move from AZ Alkmaar, marked his home debut with the finish, continuing the scoring form he showed during a prolific spell in the Netherlands. Carlos Espi briefly appeared to have equalised with an acrobatic finish from a Vinicius cross, but the goal was disallowed for offside in the build-up.
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Real continued to push for an equaliser as the match wore on. Mbappe struck the crossbar with a delicate effort before being awarded a penalty following a late challenge by Natan on Vinicius, but Valles saved the resulting spot kick to preserve the win. The result lifted Betis level with Real on nine points from four matches, ahead of only their second Champions League appearance next week.
Mourinho reflected on the defeat without disputing the officiating around the disallowed goal or the penalty award, instead pointing to his side’s overall performance and finishing. He credited Valles for a string of strong saves while acknowledging his own players had missed several clear opportunities to win the match.
With the La Liga table tightening near the top, Barcelona can move three points clear with a fourth consecutive win if they beat Valencia at Mestalla on Sunday. Real turn to Europe next, hosting Italian champions Inter Milan in their Champions League opener on Tuesday, while Betis travel to France to face Lille.
Jose Mourinho said, “We probably deserved to win, but deserving to win does not earn you any points.”
