Mbappe missed a penalty, Real Madrid lost 0-1 to Betis in La Liga

Spain Striker Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty kick in the fifth minute of injury time, causing Real Madrid to lose 0-1 to host Betis in the fourth round of La Liga.

In the first half, Real played better, finishing 15 times with six big chances, creating an expected goals index (xG) of up to 2.09 but could not take advantage of them.

In the 11th minute, Arda Guler crossed from the right wing for midfielder Dean Huijsen to head in close range, but could not beat goalkeeper Alvaro Valles. Three minutes later, Guler crossed the entire Betis defense, including Valles, but Vinicius rebounded the ball from a tight angle.

The best opportunity came in the 43rd minute. Vinicius accelerated on the left wing, rushed into the penalty area but did not finish in a face-to-face position, but passed to Mbappe. The French striker had two consecutive shots but were both blocked by Betis players.

In stoppage time, Guler took two corner kicks on the left wing, creating header opportunities for Jude Bellingham and Dean Huijsen, but they were both blocked by a flying Valles.

Despite creating more opportunities, the first half did not completely belong to the away team. Betis also had a good period of play, with Antony constantly going up against Marc Cucurella and Pablo Fornals sending dangerous cross-field passes from the left. Antony left a strong impression by passing the ball to Cucho Hernandez to volley diagonally, then finishing it himself, forcing Thibaut Courtois to show his talent for the first time.

In the second half, Real tightened the squad at the request of coach Jose Mourinho and continued to create good opportunities, including the situation facing Mbappe. Meanwhile, Betis had difficulty both in high ball disputes and in organizing counter-attacks.

The turning point, according to Marca's assessment, came in the 64th minute, when Guler - the player who created seven finishing opportunities - left the field. Record contract of 156 million USD Yan Diomande along with Eduardo Camavinga, Bernardo Silva and Trent Alexander-Arnold entered the field, but Real's variable playing style gradually disappeared.

Coach Manuel Pellegrini immediately realized that. He in turn sent Nelson Deossa, Troy Parrott and Rodrigo Riquelme onto the field, helping Betis increase the pressure. The home team began to dominate the aerial duels. These adjustments are immediately effective. In the 81st minute, from a corner on the right wing, Deossa's header failed to beat Courtois, but Parrott rushed in and kicked it into the visitors' net, opening the score.

A few seconds later, Mourinho sent Carlos Espi onto the field. The Spanish striker seemed to have scored the equalizer with a left-footed volley into Betis' net, but the goal was disallowed because of offside. In injury time, Vinicius broke into the penalty area and was fouled by Natan, giving Real a penalty. But on the 11 meter mark, Mbappe shot to the left corner and was blocked by Valles.

The 0-1 defeat was also the first time Real lost nothing under Mourinho, and exposed the royal team's biggest problem in this match: their ability to finish. Real created a series of opportunities, three times they sent the ball to the woodwork and were awarded a penalty, but could not convert it into a goal. Mbappe, Vinicius and their teammates missed good opportunities one after another, only to pay the price with a goal at the end of the match. When the sharpness in attack disappears, the dominance and superior numbers of opportunities no longer have much meaning.