Kylian Mbappé had a night to forget as Real Madrid paid the price for their missed chances in a 1-0 defeat to Real Betis.
Madrid created enough opportunities to win the match. They simply could not finish them.
Mbappé was at the centre of several of those chances, but the France international repeatedly found himself denied by defenders or goalkeeper Álvaro Vallés.
And when Madrid were handed a final opportunity from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, Mbappé failed to convert.
Mbappé Frustrated as Madrid Waste Chances
Mbappé’s first major opportunity arrived in the 24th minute when he unleashed a shot from outside the penalty area. A Betis defender got in the way to prevent the effort from troubling Vallés.
His frustration grew shortly before half-time.
Inside the box, Mbappé saw his initial first-time effort blocked. He reacted quickly to the rebound, but his second attempt was also stopped.
The forward came close again shortly after the restart. His effort from the edge of the area beat the goalkeeper but drifted narrowly wide of the right-hand post.
Vallés Keeps Betis in the Game
Madrid continued to push for the opening goal, with Mbappé presented with another promising chance in the 68th minute.
After receiving the ball inside the penalty area, he fired a low effort towards the centre of the goal.
This time, Vallés was ready.
The Betis goalkeeper made the save and kept the score level.
That intervention would prove increasingly important as the match moved into its final stages.
Parrott Gives Betis the Lead
Despite spending long periods under pressure, Betis found the breakthrough in the 81st minute.
Troy Parrott reacted fastest to a loose ball inside the area and fired the rebound into the net, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Madrid suddenly found themselves chasing the game.
VAR Denies Madrid an Equaliser
Real Madrid thought they had rescued themselves six minutes later.
Carlos Espí produced a spectacular scissor-kick finish that appeared to level the contest at 1-1.
The celebrations did not last.
VAR reviewed the build-up and the goal was ruled out for offside, leaving Madrid behind with the clock running down.
Mbappé Misses Crucial Stoppage-Time Penalty
Madrid were eventually given one final opportunity when they were awarded a penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Mbappé took responsibility.
A successful spot-kick would have rescued a point for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Instead, his attempt towards the bottom-left corner was brilliantly kept out by Vallés.
The save preserved Betis’ advantage and effectively ended Madrid’s hopes of avoiding defeat.
Real Madrid Pay the Price
The final whistle confirmed a painful result for Madrid.
They had created enough chances to take something from the match, but poor finishing, inspired goalkeeping and the disallowed late equaliser all worked against them.
For Mbappé, the missed penalty provided the most dramatic ending to an otherwise frustrating evening.
Betis held on for a 1-0 victory, while Madrid were left to rue the opportunities they failed to take.