Kylian Mbappé's Penalty Miss Costs Real Madrid Against Betis
Kylian Mbappé stood over the ball, last kick of the night, the stadium holding its breath. Real Madrid’s unbeaten start under José Mourinho was on the line. One clean strike, and they would escape Seville with a point.
He hit it too softly.
Álvaro Valles guessed right, plunged to his left and smothered the stoppage-time penalty, sealing a 1-0 win for Real Betis on Friday and handing Mourinho his first defeat since returning to the Madrid bench.
Mbappé denied, Betis erupt
The drama at the end capped a wild final 10 minutes in which Betis, under pressure for most of the evening, landed the decisive punch.
With nine minutes left, Nelson Deossa rose to meet a cross and powered a header that Thibaut Courtois could only parry. The ball dropped invitingly into the six-yard box. Troy Parrott, alert and ruthless, reacted first and swept it in for his first goal for Betis since joining from AZ Alkmaar in the summer.
The Benito Villamarín exploded. Madrid, who had controlled large stretches and carved out the better chances, suddenly trailed.
They almost responded immediately. Mbappé, who had already rattled the woodwork with a fierce effort that crashed off the crossbar five minutes from time, kept pushing. Then substitute Carlos Espí thought he had become the late hero, acrobatically flicking the ball past Valles to spark brief Madrid celebrations.
VAR silenced them. The equalizer was wiped out for offside, and the clock kept ticking against the visitors.
Chances wasted, streak snapped
This defeat carries weight. It is the first time Madrid have lost one of their opening four league games since the 2015-16 season, a jarring note after a perfect start to the new campaign and the emotional jolt of Mourinho’s return 13 years after his first spell ended.
The night will haunt Mbappé. Before the interval he squandered two big openings: one effort blocked by Natan, another smothered by Marc Bartra, who justified his selection with a crucial intervention. After the break, he dragged a shot just wide moments into the second half, a sign of the urgency Madrid brought as they chased a breakthrough.
Vinícius Júnior had already clipped the post. Jude Bellingham had seen a low strike turned away by Valles, who kept rising to every test. Madrid created enough to win two matches. They left with nothing.
When the lifeline finally arrived deep into added time, it seemed inevitable Mbappé would make amends. Natan clipped Vinícius in the box, the referee pointed straight to the spot and Betis braced for the worst. Mbappé stepped up with a run of seven consecutive penalties converted for Madrid in all competitions behind him.
The sequence ended there. Valles read it, held firm and became the night’s central figure.
Madrid players pleaded for a retake, claiming Bartra had encroached into the area, but the officials stood by the decision. Betis kept their lead, and their points.
Betis seize their moment, Barcelona watch on
For long spells, this looked like another efficient Madrid win. They controlled tempo, pressed high and forced Betis to live on scraps. Yet Manuel Pellegrini’s side refused to fold, growing into the game and finally striking when Courtois failed to hold Deossa’s header and Parrott pounced.
Courtois still had to keep Madrid alive once more, denying Deossa again as Betis hunted a second, but the damage was already done. Mourinho’s men threw everything forward, only to meet a goalkeeper in inspired form and a back line that bent but did not break.
The consequence stretches beyond one bad night in Seville. Barcelona now walk into Sunday’s trip to Valencia with the chance to open an early three-point gap over their great rivals.
Madrid have their first bruise of the Mourinho sequel. The question now is how quickly they turn the sting of a missed penalty and a lost streak into fuel for the rest of the season.
