Spain: Real Madrid caught by Betis Sevilla at the last minute, alert for Mbappé

Black evening for Real Madrid: the Madrid club, trailing in the title race by FC Barcelona, settled for a draw (1-1) in additional time against Betis Sevilla and lost Kylian Mbappé to a hamstring injury.

Joined by the locals in the final action of the match, concluded by former Barcelona player Hector Bellerin (90+4th minute, 1-1), Real Madrid (2nd, 74 points) gives Barcelona (1st, 82 points) the opportunity to move closer to winning the title if they win on Saturday (4:15 pm) against Getafe.

The Spanish giant had been leading since the 17th minute thanks to an opportunistic goal by Brazilian Vinicius Junior (17th minute, 1-0), but they never managed to secure their lead and saw it protected by crucial saves from Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.

Mbappé was not present during the Betis’ equalizing goal (50th minute, 50 points) as he had requested a substitution from his coach Alvaro Arbeloa in the 80th minute after stopping his run.

The captain of the French team and top scorer for Real Madrid did not show any visible injury or receive any blows, but he left the field grimacing. A serious warning a month and a half before the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the final goal of his season.

Responding to AFP, the Spanish club mentioned that Mbappé was suffering from a “muscular overload in the hamstring of his left leg,” ruling out a more serious injury immediately, pending further examinations.

“I don’t know, he had some pain, and we hope it will improve in the coming days,” reacted his coach Alvaro Arbeloa in a press conference, without providing more details.