Mourinho Suffers First Real Madrid Defeat in 1-0 Loss to Betis

Real Madrid suffered their first defeat of the season under manager Jose Mourinho, falling 1-0 away to Real Betis in the fourth round of La Liga. The result extends Madrid's winless away streak against Betis, which dates back to 2021.

Late Drama and Disallowed Goals

Irish international striker Troy Parrott, coming off the bench, scored the decisive goal in the 81st minute. In a twist of fate, it was Mourinho who handed Parrott his Premier League debut seven years ago during his tenure at Tottenham Hotspur.

In the 87th minute, Madrid substitute Carles Espi thought he had equalized with an acrobatic finish, but VAR intervened to disallow the goal due to an offside position earlier in the build-up.

Deep into stoppage time, Real Madrid was awarded a penalty after Vinicius Junior was fouled in the box. However, Kylian Mbappe saw his spot-kick saved by Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles.

The Rulebook Controversy

Following the penalty save, Betis defender Marc Bartra cleared the rebound. Replays suggested Bartra had entered the penalty area before Mbappe struck the ball, which would normally trigger a retake.

However, officials ruled the clearance legal. Under current regulations, because Bartra's foot was suspended in the air and not touching the turf inside the box, he was not deemed to have encroached.

Reflecting on the defeat, Mourinho criticized his team's lack of gamesmanship:

"Their players were smarter than ours. They fouled us, but our players got up immediately, so no yellow cards were shown. On the other hand, Betis players exaggerated every single contact, making it look like they needed an ambulance."

Real Madrid will look to bounce back on Tuesday when they host Inter Milan in their Champions League group stage opener.