Real Madrid's Missed Opportunities: Mbappé vs Valles
Real Madrid walked into their first real examination of the season and failed it where it hurts most: in front of goal.
They created enough chances to win two games. Maybe three. They hit the woodwork three times, squandered a penalty and ran into a goalkeeper, Valles, who turned La Cartuja into his own personal showcase. By the end, José Mourinho’s forwards were staring at him in disbelief.
No one more than Kylian Mbappé.
Mbappé vs Valles, a one-man wall
Mbappé spent the night locked in a private duel with Valles and lost it from every angle. He found space, he found shots, he found clear sights of goal. He just didn’t find the net.
The Frenchman had a handful of glaring opportunities, including a double chance in the first half that seemed destined to bring Madrid level. Valles and his defence threw themselves at everything, blocking, parrying, scrambling clear. Each time Mbappé thought he had the answer, the keeper produced another save.
The climax came in the 94th minute. Penalty to Madrid. Mbappé on the spot. The stadium braced for the inevitable. Valles guessed right, saved it, and La Cartuja exploded.
For a moment, it looked as if Mbappé might get a reprieve. There was a brief question over a possible retake, but Hernández Hernández stuck with his original decision. No second chance. No equaliser. Just more frustration.
Bellingham muted, Espí denied
If Mbappé was the face of Madrid’s irritation, Jude Bellingham was its fatigue. From the opening minutes he looked heavy-legged, drained by the suffocating heat of La Cartuja. He still ran, still showed flashes, but the sharp, driving force of the season’s early games never truly appeared.
Even so, he came close. Twice his headers seemed destined to beat Valles, twice the goalkeeper intervened again, stretching the limits of what was starting to look like a career-defining night.
Espí joined the list of nearly-men. The Valencia forward finally did beat the home keeper late on, slipping the ball into the net as the clock ticked towards 90. Relief was instant. It didn’t last. The flag went up for an earlier offside, and the goal was chalked off.
Between the disallowed strike and the penalty drama, the refereeing calls will be argued over long after the final whistle. Two moments, both cutting against Madrid, both guaranteed to fuel the debate.
Vini battles Bellerín
On the left, Vini endured a bruising, relentless battle with Bellerín. The Betis full-back met him stride for stride, tackle for tackle, and came out on top in most of their duels. Every time Vini tried to square up his marker, he found another green-and-white shirt in his path.
Yet he kept coming.
His persistence finally drew the foul that handed Madrid their lifeline from the spot, the penalty that could have reset the night for Los Blancos. Earlier, he had already rattled the woodwork after one of Madrid’s slickest moves of the first half, another near-miss in a match full of them.
By the end, the story was brutally simple: chances everywhere, goals nowhere. For a team built to dominate in the final third, that’s more than a bad night. It’s a warning.
