Mourinho rues missed chances as Real Madrid lose to Real Betis

Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho said his side “clearly deserved to win” despite suffering a 1-0 defeat by Real Betis in La Liga on Friday night, while also questioning several refereeing decisions during the match.

“We clearly deserved to win, but deserving doesn’t give you points,” Mourinho told reporters after the final whistle.

Real Madrid made the stronger start at La Cartuja and created two excellent opportunities inside the opening 15 minutes. In the 11th minute, Arda Guler delivered a dangerous cross towards Dean Huijsen, whose acrobatic effort was saved by the Betis goalkeeper.

Three minutes later, Vinicius Junior struck the post after meeting another cross from Guler.

Real Betis gradually became more influential as the first half developed, but the visitors continued to threaten. Jude Bellingham played Vinicius through in the 43rd minute, and the Brazilian then picked out Kylian Mbappe inside the penalty area.

Mbappe’s first attempt was blocked by Natan before Marc Bartra cleared his second effort off the goal line. Real Madrid came close once more in added time, when the goalkeeper kept out a header from Bellingham and Huijsen then hit the crossbar.

Madrid maintained the pressure after half-time but could not turn their chances into a goal. Betis goalkeeper Valles produced another important save to deny a header from Deossa in the 80th minute.

The home side then took the lead when Troy Parrott followed up after Valles’ save.

Real Madrid had one final opportunity to rescue a point after Vinicius was brought down inside the penalty area in added time. Mbappe took the penalty, but Valles made another decisive save to preserve Betis’ advantage.

Mourinho, who was booked during a tense contest, was particularly unhappy that Arda Guler had been shown a yellow card in the first half.

“I don’t know why he gave me a yellow card, but it’s okay; I accept it. Betis reached half-time without a single card, and poor Arda, who only knows how to play, ended up with a yellow. I didn’t like that,” Mourinho said.

The Portuguese manager also declined to give a firm opinion on the penalty, the decision to retake it and an earlier goal by Gonzalo Espi that had been disallowed. Mourinho said he had not watched the incidents again.

“The penalty situation, the retaken penalty, Espi’s goal I don’t know, I can’t say,” he said. “I saw a lot of frustration on the bench from people watching the plays on the tablet. I haven’t seen them, so I can’t comment.”

Despite the result, Mourinho praised his players for their overall display and said he had no criticism of their attitude.

“I don’t know why we lost. I can’t justify it. Collectively, the team played very well in all aspects. Individually, they also played very well. I have nothing to reproach any player for their attitude; quite the opposite. Everyone gave their all,” he said.

Mourinho believed Real Madrid had created enough chances to win, but said Valles’ performance had made the difference.

“We missed three, and their goalkeeper made four incredible saves,” he said. “I might change my opinion after watching the match tomorrow, but from the bench today, I don’t know why we lost.”

The defeat was Real Madrid’s first of the season. It left them second in the points table, with arch-rivals Barcelona remaining top because of their superior goal difference.