Jose Mourinho could not find any justification for Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss to Real Betis on Friday in his first defeat back in LaLiga.
Betis were ahead through Troy Parrott who was introduced as a substitute in the 81st minute, while there was some late drama as first the goal from Carlos Espí was disallowed due to being offside, and then the penalty attempt from Kylian Mbappé was saved by goalkeeper Álvaro Valles.
For Real Madrid, the team had eight shots on target, an expected goals (xG) of 3.16.
Post-Match Reaction
“Sometimes you lose and you don’t know why,” Mourinho said in his post match news conference, per ESPN. “Sometimes you lose and you don’t know how to explain it. We were very dominant, focused, we controlled absolutely everything, with a lot of attacking play, and a lot of chances.
“If it was a draw we’d be frustrated, because we deserved more, so imagine with a defeat!”
Real Betis defender Marc Batra encroached the penalty area when Kylian Mbappe took the penalty. Thus, calls from Real Madrid that the penalty should be retaken but the referee stood his ground
“I haven’t seen [the incidents],” Mourinho said, when asked about the penalty, and Espí’s disallowed goal. “I haven’t watched them in the dressing room, so I can’t comment.
“I might change my mind watching the game tomorrow, but my feeling from the bench is that I don’t know why we lost. I can’t find the justification, because the team played very well in every aspect. Individually too, I have nothing to criticize. We deserved to win clearly, but deserving doesn’t get you points.”
Summer signing Carlos Espi scored a crucial winner at Espanyol. He nearly had another magic moment against Real Betis but his goal was disallowed.
“A kid who plays 10 or 15 minutes and scores a great goal — it might be offside — but he’s an important player for us,” Mourinho said. “He did his job very well. He’s a kid with great potential and he’ll improve … I couldn’t be happier with him.”
Mourinho Accuses Madrid Players of “Naivety”
Jose Mourinho insisted that his side were “naive” with their inability to influence the decisions of the referee unlike their opponents who would swarm the referee any time a crucial decision was to be made.
“The Betis players are cleverer than Real Madrid’s in that sense,” the coach said. “Madrid’s are naive … Betis players tried to impact the referee, but Madrid’s players, when something deserves a yellow card, they get straight back up … When you play teams with this mentality, it’s an important factor.”
Barcelona will maintain a three-point gap over Real Madrid if they beat Valencia on Sunday.
