Spain
Coach Jose Mourinho sarcastically criticized a Betis player for "acting out" in front of Real Madrid's technical area, and said that his team did not deserve to lose 0-1 in round 4 of La Liga.
In the 54th minute, midfielder Ibrahima Konate fouled Fran Garcia, causing the former Real Madrid defender to roll on the Cartuja field and appear in pain. Konate immediately received a yellow card, and Mourinho also came close to the touchline and said something towards Garcia. Referee Alejandro Hernandez immediately ran over and issued a yellow card, warning the away team coach.
"I don't know why I was given a yellow card," Mourinho said after the match. "I accept. I just stood up because a Betis player looked dead right in front of my seat."
However, he did not want to use the referee's decision as a reason for defeat. Mourinho said that the referee allowed the match to continue and said that was what he liked.
"There are a lot of people disappointed with the situations, but I don't see it and can't comment," the 63-year-old coach continued. "The referee let the game continue and I like it that way. After losing, I won't say we failed because of a yellow card."
According to the Portuguese coach, Real did not lose because of bad play, but because of unlucky situations and the ability to take advantage of opportunities. The 63-year-old coach even admitted that he "cannot explain why the team is empty handed". According to Mourinho, Real even played one of the best matches since the beginning of the season, despite losing their winning streak.
Real creates opportunities corresponding to 3.16 expected goals. That is, a normal team would score three goals from those situations. However, Vinicius hit the post, goalkeeper Alvaro Valles saved many times, and Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty in injury time. The home team scored the only goal in the 81st minute thanks to Troy Parrott.
But Mourinho continued to protect his players instead of criticizing the attackers. "I have nothing to complain about the attitude of any player. On the contrary, they are all dedicated," he said. "We clearly deserved to win. But this deservingness was not enough to bring in points."
"The Special One" also admitted that Betis is more mischievous in some situations. "Betis players are smarter than Real, because we are still quite naive," he said. "In the first phase, they should have received a yellow card for fouling Valverde, then there was another situation. But we quickly got up."
Mourinho believes that Betis, with the support of the home crowd, knows how to take advantage of such situations. Although unhappy with the way Betis handled some situations, Mourinho still congratulated his opponent. "Congratulations Betis. They played for a draw and hit the jackpot with the victory," he emphasized.
This was Real's first loss under Mourinho in his second return to lead the team. Before that, Real won the first three rounds of La Liga. But Mourinho does not think the team is having big problems after the loss in Seville. He even emphasized that he was very satisfied with the players.
In this match, Mbappe missed a penalty in the 90+4 minute, after Valles blocked the French striker's shot. Real also had an equalizer disallowed by Carlos Espi for offside. Missed opportunities caused the away team to leave the field empty-handed despite creating a dominant position.
In the next match, Real takes on Inter at the Bernabeu in the first round of the Champions League on the evening of September 8.
