LAST UPDATE
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9 hrs ago

Real Betis 1
Real Madrid 0

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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND’S Troy Parrot emerged as the hero for Real Betis as he scored his first goal since joining the La Liga outfit to earn a stunning victory over Real Madrid.

Parrott, who came on in the 68th minute, scored what proved to be the only goal of the game on 81 minutes.

The game ended in a frenzy as Real Madrid had a goal disallowed by VAR before Kylian Mbappé missed a penalty in injury time.

There was a brief consultation over whether a retake should have been awarded, but the referee eventually waved play on as the seconds ticked away to a huge win for Real Betis.

 

 

First loss in second spell for Mourinho

Madrid had won each of their first three matches under Mourinho in his second spell in charge, but Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles denied Mbappé from the spot deep into stoppage time to seal a memorable victory at La Cartuja.

Vinícius Júnior hit the post in the first half from Arda Güler’s pass across the face of goal, with Mbappé foiled twice by heroic blocks from Natan and Marc Bartra.

As Madrid struggled to break Betis down, the hosts took a surprise lead nine minutes from time when Parrott fired home the rebound after Thibaut Courtois had produced a fine save to deny Nelson Deossa’s header.

Carlos Espi thought he had equalised with a superb acrobatic finish from a Vinicius cross, but the goal was ruled out for offside in the build-up.

Mbappé then clipped the crossbar with a delicate effort before being handed a glorious chance to level from the penalty spot after Natan’s crunching late challenge on Vinicius.

However, Valles saved his kick to secure a victory that lifted Betis level with Madrid on nine points from four matches ahead of just their second Champions League campaign next week.

Parrott joined Real Betis from AZ Alkmaar on 20 August in a deal that is believed to be worth in the region of €20 million.

Last season, Parrott scored 31 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions at club level with AZ Alkmaar, plus six goals in Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign, including a memorable hat-trick away to Hungary. 

Written by Sinead Farrell with reporting by AFP and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.