Kylian Mbappe misses penalty as Real Madrid suffer first defeat of LaLiga season

Kylian Mbappe’s costly penalty miss summed up a frustrating night for Real Madrid, who suffered their first defeat of the LaLiga season on Friday when they lost 1-0 to Real Betis.

Madrid controlled most of the match and created enough chances for Benito Villamarin to get all three points. Instead, they were thwarted by a late goal from substitute Troy Parrott and a crucial save from Alvaro Valles, leaving the visitors wondering how they came away empty-handed.

The game started at a high tempo, but the intensity dropped after the break as the Seville heat began to take its toll. However, Madrid continued to press forward, with Mbappe among those trying to break the deadlock.

Betis finally found the breakthrough in the 81st minute, moments after Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced an excellent save.

BETIS SHOCK REAL MADRID

Nelson Deossa took a corner and forced Courtois into a quick save to his left. But the Belgian could only deflect the ball into the dangerous area and Parrott reacted the fastest. The substitute, who joined Betis this year from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, was in the right place at the right time as he calmly slotted the rebound into the net.

There was a touch of poetry to the goal. Parrott previously worked under Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur, where the Portuguese manager publicly questioned the then 23-year-old forward’s attitude. Mourinho handed Parrott his debut at Tottenham, but their relationship eventually soured as the striker had successive loan spells at Millwall, Ipswich Town, Milton Keynes Dons, Preston North End and Excelsior before moving to AZ Alkmaar in 2024.

Now, years after Mourinho doubted him, Parrott scored the goal that left his former manager staring at defeat.

Madrid responded almost immediately. Mbappe hit the crossbar four minutes later before substitute Carlos Espi looked to have restored parity with a spectacular bicycle kick from Vinicius Junior’s cross.

However, the celebrations were short-lived. VAR ruled out the goal for offside, so Madrid are still looking for an equaliser. Carlos Espi played a spectacular bicycle kick in the final minutes. (Photo by Reuters)

Betis then almost doubled their advantage when Deossa spotted Courtois off his line and curled in a long-range effort. Courtois recovered in time to make another crucial save to keep Madrid in touch.

The visitors got one last chance deep into stoppage time when Natan brought down Vinicius in the penalty area.

Mbappe stepped out and trotted towards the spot in his familiar style. But the French striker’s penalty lacked power and Valles guessed right, diving to his right to save and keep Betis’ lead.

It was a remarkable way to end Madrid’s perfect start to the season.

“We were very dominant, the centre-backs were imperial and controlled absolutely everything,” Mourinho said after the match. “A lot of offensive play and a lot of scoring opportunities.”

Mourinho felt Madrid did more than enough to win the game, but acknowledged that football does not always reward the better side.

“Betis, playing for a draw, won the jackpot,” he said.

A FRUSTRATED MOURINHO COUNTS THE LOSS

Madrid’s frustration was summed up by their inability to turn their dominance into goals. The visitors wasted several chances while Valles made a number of important saves before making the biggest of the night in stoppage time.

“I don’t know why we lost. I can’t justify it,” Mourinho said. “Comprehensively, the team played very well in all aspects. Individually also very well. I have nothing to criticize about any player’s attitude, quite the opposite. Everyone gave their all.”

But in the end, Madrid’s missed chances proved costly. As Mourinho said: “We definitely deserved to win, but you can’t earn points.”

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

05 Sep 2026 07:02 IST