Mourinho baffled after Real Madrid's shock defeat to Betis

Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho admitted he could not explain his team's unexpected away defeat to Real Betis in Seville on Friday. The match ended 0:1 despite Real Madrid hitting the woodwork eight times and accumulating 3.16 expected goals over the course of the game.

The only goal came in the 81st minute from substitute Troy Perrot. The closing stages produced dramatic moments: first, summer signing Carlos Espi found the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Then, in stoppage time, Kylian Mbappe had a chance to equalize from the penalty spot, but his effort was saved by Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles. Real Madrid felt the penalty should have been retaken, arguing that Betis defender Marc Bartra had encroached into the box early.

Mourinho at a loss for answers

"Sometimes you lose and you don't know why. Sometimes you lose and you don't know how to explain it," Mourinho said after the match. He argued his side had dominated, stayed focused and controlled the game almost entirely, adding that even a draw would have felt disappointing given how much they created — making the loss harder to accept. He said no individual player deserved blame.

Mourinho said he had not yet watched replays of either the Mbappe penalty or the disallowed Espi goal, so he declined to comment directly on the officials' decisions. He did, however, criticize his own players' conduct toward the referee, saying Betis players were more experienced and better at influencing officiating decisions, while his own squad was too naive in comparison.

The defeat was Real Madrid's first in any of their opening four La Liga matches of a season since 2014/15. Mourinho praised new signing Espi, who had already scored a winning goal against Espanyol earlier this season, calling him a player with huge potential. Meanwhile, Barcelona have the chance to open a three-point gap over Real Madrid when they face Valencia on Sunday.