Barcelona will have every opportunity to move further away from their fiercest La Liga rival Real Madrid when they travel to the Estadio de Mestalla on Sunday to face Valencia.
Real Betis have become steadfastly stronger in the six years that Manuel Pellegrini has led the club, they are seen as a serious contender for the La Liga title this season, as evidenced by three wins and a loss in the league opener.
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Ireland’s Troy Parrott came on from the bench and scored the winning goal as Real Betis beat Real Madrid – while Kylian Mbappé missed a penalty in injury time.
The Dubliner, 24 years old, entered the pitch in the 68th minute and was in the right place at the right time when he put in the rebound after Thibaut Courtois had saved Nelson Deossa’s header.
The goal was his third appearance for Betis – and his first for Manuel Pellegrini’s side since his £17.1m move from AZ Alkmaar.
Madrid’s equaliser annulled – and Mbappé fought against Valle’s
Carlos Espi thought he had secured a point for the visitors when he steered in Vinicius Júnior’s cross with an acrobatic volley – but the goal was annulled for offside after a check by the video assistant referee.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Madrid were awarded a penalty in injury time after a foul on Vinicius. But Kylian Mbappé – usually so confident – saw his effort saved by an outstanding Álvaro Vallés in the Betis cage.
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The result put an end to José Mourinho’s perfect start to his second spell as Real Madrid manager, after three straight wins in the league opener.
Mourinho knows Parrott very well – he was the one who gave the Irishman his only two Premier League appearances for Tottenham in the 2019/20 season.
The road from Tottenham bench to La Liga hero
After Tottenham, Parrott was loaned out to a number of English clubs – Millwall, Ipswich, MK Dons and Preston – without being able to break through at Spurs.
Then came a far more successful loan spell at Dutch side Excelsior, which in turn led to a permanent move to league rivals AZ for £6.7 million. At Alkmaar, he really flourished: 51 goals in 97 games.
This summer, he made the move to La Liga and Real Betis – after also being wanted by West Ham.
On the national team, he made a strong mark in November, scoring five goals in four days against Portugal and Hungary – sending Ireland to the World Cup play-offs. Unfortunately, it ended in defeat.
