In the 54th minute, center-back Ibrahima Konate fouled Fran Garcia, causing the former Real Madrid defender to roll on the Cartuja pitch, appearing to be in pain. Konate immediately received a yellow card, while Mourinho approached the touchline and said something toward Garcia. Referee Alejandro Hernandez quickly ran over and issued a yellow card, cautioning the visiting team's coach.

"I don't know why I got a yellow card," Mourinho said after the match. "I accept it. I just stood up because a Betis player looked like he was dead right in front of my bench."

Despite this, he refused to blame the referee's decision for the defeat. Mourinho stated that the referee allowed the game to continue, which he preferred.

"Many people are disappointed with certain situations, but I didn't see them and cannot comment," the 63-year-old coach continued. "The referee let the game flow, and I like that. After a loss, I won't say we failed because of a yellow card."

According to the Portuguese coach, Real did not lose due to poor play, but rather from unfortunate circumstances and a failure to convert opportunities. The 63-year-old coach even admitted he "couldn't explain why the team came away empty-handed." Mourinho suggested Real played one of their best matches of the season so far, despite their winning streak ending.

Real created opportunities equating to 3.16 expected goals. This means a normal team would score three goals from those situations. However, Vinicius hit the post, goalkeeper Alvaro Valles made several saves, and Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty in stoppage time. The hosts scored their only goal in the 81st minute through Troy Parrott.

Coach Jose Mourinho giving instructions during the Real Betis - Real Madrid match at La Cartuja, Seville, Spain, La Liga's 4th round on 4/9/2026. *Photo: AP*

Mourinho continued to defend his players instead of criticizing the offense. "I have no complaints about any player's attitude. On the contrary, everyone gave their all," he said. "We clearly deserved to win. But this deserving performance wasn't enough to secure points."

"The Special One" also admitted Betis was more cunning in some situations. "Betis players were smarter than Real because we were quite naive," he stated. "In the first play, they should have received a yellow card for fouling Valverde, and then there was another situation. But we quickly got back up."

Mourinho suggested Betis, with the support of their home crowd, knew how to exploit such situations. While displeased with how Betis handled some incidents, Mourinho still congratulated his opponents. "Congratulations to Betis. They played for a draw and hit the jackpot with a win," he emphasized.

This marks Real's first loss under Mourinho in his second spell as coach. Previously, Real had won all three opening rounds of La Liga. But Mourinho does not believe the team faces major issues after the loss in Seville. He even stressed his satisfaction with the players.

In this match, Mbappe missed a penalty in the 90+4th minute after Valles saved the French striker's shot. Real also had a disallowed equalizer by Carlos Espi for offside. These missed opportunities left the visiting team empty-handed despite dominating the game.

In their next match, Real will host Inter at the Bernabeu in their first Champions League fixture on the evening of 8/9.