Mourinho questions referee and Guler's red after Seville loss
In the sweltering La Cartuja stadium on Friday, Real Madrid walked off the pitch after a 1‑0 defeat to Real Betis, leaving José Mourinho to dissect a night of missed chances, a late penalty miss by Kylian Mbappe, and controversial moments involving Espi and Guler.
Betis capitalise on Madrid errors
Los Blancos created a number of first‑half chances but failed to convert, and Troy Parrott eventually broke the deadlock for Betis late in the game. A subsequent penalty awarded to Real Madrid was missed by Mbappe, sealing the result. EFE reported the incident and highlighted the unusual heat that night.
Mourinho defends his side and questions decisions
Jose Mourinho told the media via Diario AS that his side had been dominant, controlling the game and deserving a win. He said, “We played a great game, we deserved the points, but deserving doesn’t give you points.” He added that he could not explain the loss despite the collective performance.
The Portuguese coach said he had not seen Carlos Espi’s off‑side goal nor any encroachment on Mbappe’s penalty, and he praised a referee who “lets play go”. He accepted a yellow card he received, noting the bench was full of frustrated faces.
Mourinho was more critical of referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez for the decision to remove Arda Guler, who was already on a yellow card. He described Guler as “very difficult to replace” and said the Turkish midfielder had been playing well before the substitution. He also suggested Betis players were “smarter” than Real’s in that moment.
Speaking highly of Espi, Mourinho noted the youngster entered with ten to fifteen minutes left and scored a spectacular scissors‑style goal, even if it may have been offside. He called Espi “a boy with great potential, humble and hardworking”.
The defeat marked Mourinho’s first loss with Real Madrid and sparked protests from players towards Hernandez Hernandez after the final whistle. Le commentary mentioned the ball‑deflation issue at the start, while Al supporters left the venue in silence. The Mbapp incident sparked debate, and both REAL and MADRID officials said they would review the referee’s handling of the match.