José Mourinho expressed his inability to understand Real Madrid‘s 1-0 loss to Real Betis on Friday, marking the coach’s first defeat since his return to La Liga.
Substitute Troy Parrott scored the only goal for Betis in the 81st minute. The match’s thrilling conclusion saw Carlos Espí have a spectacular equalizer ruled out for offside, and later Kylian Mbappé‘s penalty kick was saved by goalkeeper Álvaro Valles during stoppage time.
Despite registering eight shots on target and an expected goals (xG) of 3.16, Madrid returned from Seville without a point.
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This marks the first time Real Madrid has lost one of their initial four league games since the 2014-15 season.
“Sometimes losses happen, and it’s hard to explain,” Mourinho remarked in the post-match press conference. “We were dominant, focused, controlled the game, and created many chances. If we had drawn, we would have felt frustrated, so think how we feel after a loss!”
Madrid believed that Mbappé’s penalty should have been retaken, as Betis defender Marc Bartra seemed to encroach into the box when the penalty was taken.
“I haven’t seen the incidents,” Mourinho said when asked about the penalty and Espí’s disallowed goal. “I haven’t reviewed them in the dressing room, so I can’t comment. I might change my view after watching the game tomorrow, but my impression from the bench is that I can’t find an explanation for our loss. The team performed well in all aspects, and individually, there was nothing to criticize. We clearly deserved to win, but deserving points doesn’t translate to actual points.”
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Why wasn’t Kylian Mbappé’s penalty retaken for Real Madrid?
New signing Espí has already been pivotal for Madrid this season, having netted a late winner against Espanyol, and he almost secured a point for the team in La Cartuja before his goal was disallowed.
“A young player who comes in for 10 or 15 minutes and scores a great goal—though it may have been offside—he’s crucial for us,” Mourinho stated. “He performed exceptionally well. He has immense potential and will continue to improve… I couldn’t be happier with his progress.”
Mourinho also noted that his players were “naive” in not influencing the referee during the match. “The Betis players were more astute than those from Real Madrid in this respect,” he commented. “Players from Madrid tend to get right back up when fouled instead of playing to their advantage… When facing teams with this mentality, it’s a significant factor.”
Barcelona will now have the opportunity to move three points ahead of Madrid when they face Valencia on Sunday.