In one of those matches that are worth Leagues, Real Madrid fell at La Cartuja against Betis thanks to a solitary goal from Parrott. The white team missed several chances in the first half, especially from Mbappé, saw a goal by Espí disallowed for offside, and missed a penalty, also involving Mbappé, to equalize the match in the final moments. The whites protested that the penalty should be retaken due to Bartra entering the area, but Hernádez Hernández was clear in his decision.
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Missed chances away from home count double for the League. They count double and count for Leagues. Historically, they are won and lost in dangerous fields like Betis’. This Friday it was not at Villamarín but at La Cartuja, and Madrid and Mbappé discovered that some goals are worth more than others.
The firepower that had shown to score 10 goals in the first three rounds was dampened in Betis territory against the wall Valles. The goalkeeper appeared from the 10th minute to contain Madrid’s attempts and save the verdiblanco night.
Madrid’s chances always came from the feet of Arda Güler, that shy footballer who is gradually conquering the galaxy. Mourinho warns that he will end up being a 6 or an 8, comparing him to Modric, and the Turk shows with his play that he does not fear the shadow of the Croatian.
From his left foot came the cross towards Huijsen’s shot that Valles saved, and from his right foot a horizontal pass to Vinicius, inside the area, which the Brazilian sent against the post after taking a few milliseconds too long to attack the ball.
Madrid dominated a lot, with Camavinga embedded between the center-backs and the rest more free. The Frenchman was like a spinning top, with his flaws and virtues, a coin toss in some possessions, but physically strong enough to stop Pellegrini’s team’s transitions. Betis grew logically when Isco and Antony appeared between the lines and when Madrid stopped pressing after losing the ball. The Brazilian forced Courtois and passed to Cucho for a volley that went wide in the locals’ best moments, also without success.
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At half an hour, Güler again to reconnect Madrid. Vinicius did not reach a low cross and a few minutes later started the clearest counterattack of the match. Vinicius, one-on-one with Valles, passed to Mbappé and he, alone with Natan in front, sent the ball to the central defender’s body. On the rebound, he found Bartra and wasted his great chance just when Madrid was pressing the most, with Valles saving a Bellingham header and deflecting another from Huijsen off the crossbar.
The second half turned into something else. Madrid lost steam until it was seen stuck in the ditch at the start of the League. Mourinho saw his first yellow card of the season for protesting a card to Konaté and the Portuguese had to withdraw Güler, the best of the whites, due to the danger of being sent off after the referee spared him a second card.
But Madrid was almost gone. Mourinho included Diomande, Silva, and Trent to have more legs, but it did not help. Mbappé had another clear chance by not taking advantage of a good cross from an imperial Huijsen and the match accumulated tensions. It was not an unfamiliar context for Madrid because they had already experienced it in Cornellá, but this time they were behind on the scoreboard.
In the 80th minute, Parrott got ahead of the defenders after a great save by Courtois to a shot from Deossa and put Betis ahead. Mourinho wanted to react with the ‘Espi Territory‘, but the striker’s goal, colossal, was disallowed for offside. Already in extra time, a penalty by Natan on Vinicius was missed by Mbappé, who again found Valles. The whites asked for the penalty to be retaken, but the referee did not consider it and they left La Cartuja without three points.
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