Betis vs Real Madrid Review
Real Betis’ persistent defense paid off when Troy Parrott seized the opportunity to score a late winning goal in a 1-0 LaLiga victory against Real Madrid, extending Los Verdiblancos’ unbeaten home head-to-head streak to five matches. The home team faced an early onslaught from Los Blancos as José Mourinho’s squad aimed to quiet the crowd. Dean Huijsen had the first significant chance of the match but, fully stretched, could only direct a deep cross into the hands of Álvaro Valles.
Álvaro Valles was helpless moments later, but the goalpost came to the rescue following some skillful play near the box involving Mbappé and Güler, with Vinícius Júnior ultimately striking the post from a tight angle. Antony was Betis’ most impressive player, earning several corners and forcing Thibaut Courtois into a diving save at his near post. However, Betis’ defense had to come to the rescue again just before halftime, with both Natan and Marc Bartra blocking Mbappé’s attempts on the goal line after he appeared poised to score from Vinícius’ unselfish pass.
Mbappé nearly broke the deadlock shortly after the second half began, but his curling shot went wide. Betis weren’t threatening in attack, but they looked solid defensively, which led to a frustrated Mourinho making three substitutions just after the 60-minute mark. Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini also made changes, and one of them led to the breakthrough with 10 minutes remaining. Courtois made a full-stretch save to deny Nelson Deossa’s header from a corner, but Parrott was quickest to react and converted the rebound from close range.
The drama continued as Carlos Espí’s late equalizer was disallowed by VAR. Then, deep into injury time, Natan’s unnecessarily clumsy foul on Vinícius Júnior resulted in a penalty. Mbappé took his time during the penalty kick, but his weak shot was saved by Valles, securing all three points for Betis and putting them level at the top of La Liga alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona with nine points each. Meanwhile, Mourinho experienced his first loss in his second tenure as Real Madrid’s coach, which is far from ideal preparation for his team’s UEFA Champions League opener against another of his former clubs, Inter Milan.
