Madrid's night gets worse: Mbappé misses too

Troy Parrott scored the only goal of the game as Betis left with all three points, a result that will sting far more than a routine mid-table upset given who was on the other side of it.

The goal that decided it

Parrott's finish proved decisive on a night when Real Madrid struggled to find any rhythm against a side they'd expect to beat comfortably. The Irish forward has been a regular presence in Betis' attack this season, and this goal arrives with considerably more weight attached than most.

Mbappé's miss

Madrid pushed for an equaliser deep into added time and won a penalty that offered Mbappé the chance to spare his side's blushes. He didn't take it. The miss leaves Madrid facing a defeat that, with a converted spot-kick, would have been a shared point and a forgettable Thursday rather than a genuine talking point.

Missing from twelve yards happens to everyone eventually, even the best forward on the planet. The timing here is what stings: the last action of the match, Madrid chasing an equaliser, and the man they signed to win exactly these moments coming up empty.

Early-season nerves

It's early in the campaign, and one defeat doesn't rewrite a season. But losing at home to Betis, with the club's biggest attacking asset failing from the spot when it mattered most, is precisely the kind of result that gets replayed all winter if things don't tighten up quickly.

Betis, for their part, will take the result and run with it. A win over Madrid on their own turf is the sort of result that changes a mid-table club's mood for weeks, regardless of what happens next.