Mourinho dumbfounded by Real Madrid's dramatic loss at Betis

Jose Mourinho struggled to put into words the reasoning behind Real Madrid's defeat to Real Betis after late drama unfolded at Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla on Friday.

Mourinho watched on as his team dominated proceedings without reward, and they were punished in the 81st minute when Troy Parrott finished into the net from close range. 

But Parrott's opener was just the start of an enthralling finish. Madrid thought they had levelled three minutes from time when Carlos Espi acrobatically turned the ball home. 

However, the goal was ruled out for an offside, but Mourinho's men were handed another chance to snatch a point when Vinicius Junior was fouled in the penalty area by Natan. 

Kylian Mbappe assumed responsibility of the spot-kick, but he saw his effort saved by Alvaro Valles, handing Mourinho his first defeat since returning to the Spanish capital. 

Madrid generated an expected goals (xG) total of 3.46 from their 20 shots, with Dean Huijsen, Vinicius and Mbappe also all hitting the woodwork during the contest.

In fact, Los Blancos have hit the frame of the goal six times already this season in LaLiga, at least three times more than the next four teams in the ranking, leaving Mourinho unable to explain how his side did not walk away with at least a point. 

"Sometimes you lose, and you don't know why," Mourinho said. "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 a defeat!"

Madrid argued that Mbappe's penalty should have been retaken, as Betis defender Marc Bartra appeared to be encroaching inside the box when he took the spot-kick.

"I haven't seen [the incidents]," Mourinho said, when asked about the penalty and Espi's disallowed goal. "I haven't watched them in the dressing room, so I can't comment.

"I might change my mind when 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.

"The team played very well in every aspect. Individually too, I have nothing to criticise. We deserved to win clearly, but deserving doesn't get you points."

Madrid have now not won on any of their last five LaLiga visits to Betis (D3 L2), after winning on five of their previous six visits to the Verdiblancos in the competition (L1). 

Barcelona now have the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table when they face Valencia on Sunday, while Betis are now level on points with Madrid in third. 

Speaking after the game, Mourinho said Betis "played to draw and won the jackpot", and his comments seemed to irk Pellegrini, who said his team were deserving victors. 

"I don't think we played too roughly. I think both teams contested the ball. I don't believe there was significant refereeing influence," Pellegrini said.

"Whether there was one more or one less yellow card, I don't think those were decisive factors in the outcome of the match. 

"We didn't win the game because of the referee. We won because we capitalised on our chances, and they couldn't convert theirs, either because they were denied by Alvaro Valles or because they missed the penalty they had.

"So, that's how results are in football; specific events decide the outcome, but I don't think the referee was the reason."