Real Madrid’s flawless start to the La Liga campaign came to an abrupt halt on Friday as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Real Betis at La Cartuja. The result marks the first loss for Jose Mourinho since returning for his second stint as manager, ending a run of three consecutive victories.
The decisive moment arrived nine minutes before the final whistle. Thibaut Courtois initially made an impressive save to stop a header from Nelson Deossa, but Troy Parrott was quick to react, firing in the rebound to secure his first goal for Betis. Madrid had earlier come close to breaking the deadlock when Vinicius Junior struck the post following a cross from Arda Guler, while Kylian Mbappe saw two promising attempts thwarted by defensive blocks from Marc Bartra and Natan Bernardo de Souza.
Drama unfolded in the closing stages as Carlos Espi appeared to have leveled the score with an acrobatic strike from a Vinicius cross, only for the goal to be disallowed due to an offside infringement. Mbappe later clipped the crossbar with a delicate effort before earning a golden opportunity to equalize from the penalty spot after Natan fouled Vinicius.
However, Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles emerged as the hero, diving to save Mbappe’s spot-kick deep into stoppage time. The victory moves Betis to nine points from four matches, drawing them level with Madrid as they prepare for their second-ever Champions League campaign next week.
