BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Kylian Mbappé stutter-stepped in his runup, aimed for the lower left side of the net — and watched as Real Betis’ goalkeeper leapt to smother his penalty shot.
Moments later, the whistle blew at La Cartuja Stadium. Madrid lost its first match in Jose Mourinho’s return to the bench this season.
Álvaro Valles’ save of Mbappé’s injury-time penalty kick secured an unexpected 1-0 win for the host in La Liga on Friday.
Valles capped his outstanding performance, which included a diving swat of an early header by Jude Bellingham among other saves, with his biggest save of the night.
Mbappé looked set to cancel out Troy Parrott’s 81st-minute goal when he stepped to the spot. Vinícius Júnior earned the penalty when he dribbled down the left side of the endline and Betis defender Natan rashly slid into him.
Valles said he had studied Mbappé’s penalties and guessed correctly he would go to his Valles’ right side. Valles celebrated with a roar — and a little chest bump into a stunned-looking Mbappé.
“We were sure we had it, but of course you also need a bit of luck,” Valles said about predicting Mbappé’s strike. “He is very good at trying to make you commit early and not showing you where he is aiming. I was fortunate to stop it.”
Mbappé has made a strong start to the season, scoring in two of three games, including one hat trick.
But he was far from his best in Seville. Besides the penalty miss, he also squandered a double chance in the first half after Vinícius set him up with Valles drawn out of position. Both of Mbappe’s back-to-back attempts hit a different Betis defender. Mbappé also had a shot that glanced the goal frame.
Mbappé led the World Cup in scoring this summer and will get a chance to redeem himself for Madrid when it hosts Inter Milan in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.
___
