La Liga: Real Betis 1 (Parrott 81) Real Madrid 0

The pearl of Andalucía has a new hero. Troy Parrott could hardly have wished for a sweeter first La Liga goal than against the galacticos of Madrid.

Things did not happen immediately for Parrott after moving to AZ Alkmaar. He made four appearances without scoring before hitting Heerenveen for four goals in his fifth game.

The 24-year-old therefore would not have been perturbed when Manuel Pellegrini left him on the bench against Real Madrid, as he had done for the second time in his first three La Liga fixtures. Parrott only signed for Betis on August 20th, so patience was hardly an issue.

Still, the Dubliner would have wanted his first home appearance in Seville to come from the start, particularly against the 15-time Champions League winners and the main man in their dugout.

José Mourinho gave Parrott his Premier League debut for Tottenham as a 17-year-old in December 2019. The Special One even presented him with the match ball after Tottenham’s 5-0 defeat of Burnley, although Son Heung-min had scored a hat-trick and Parrott only appeared late on.

Mourinho’s initial embrace soon became a cold shoulder. He criticised Parrott’s attitude, and a succession of loan spells followed those heady beginnings before the Ireland international rediscovered his form with Excelsior and AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands.

His move to Spain secured, Parrott had to wait until the 69th minute to make an impact against Mourinho’s current galacticos, after what had largely been a rearguard action by the hosts.

He made his cameo count almost immediately, tigerishly dispossessing Denzel Dumfries and lifting the home faithful. Two minutes later, he sent a 20-yard effort just over the crossbar.

Then, in the 81st minute, Nelson Deossa met Pablo Fornals’ corner for Betis. Thibaut Courtois produced a world-class save, but Parrott reacted first and drilled the rebound into the net.

Somehow, it was enough to clinch victory. Madrid had a goal disallowed before Kylian Mbappé’s injury-time penalty was saved by heroic goalkeeper Alvaro Valles, with Mourinho and the visitors howling for a re-take to no avail.

Had Parrott opened his account against Levante last Saturday, when he was presented with a great chance, perhaps Pellegrini would have kept Cucho Hernández in reserve against Madrid and trusted the Dubliner.

The Betis supporters had been encouraged by Parrott’s physicality and commitment during his opening appearances, but the Seville media quickly criticised his display in last weekend’s 5-2 defeat. He was replaced after an hour, having spurned the chance to put Los Verdiblancos 3-2 ahead despite otherwise performing well.

Pellegrini instead selected the club’s leading scorer from last season against Madrid, with Antony, Isco and Fornals tasked with supplying the Colombian striker in his usual 4-2-3-1 formation.

The tactic nearly worked midway through the first half when Antony combined cleverly with Hernández, but the number nine shot wide.

It was a rare moment of optimism for the hosts after Madrid began brightly in front of a 60,000 crowd. Dean Huijsen’s close-range effort was saved, while Vinicius Junior fired into the side netting. Before half-time, Mbappé somehow struck Natan with the goal at his mercy before the rebound also found Valles.

Seconds later, Jude Bellingham fired beyond the far post, while he and Huijsen exposed Betis’ vulnerability defending corners. Valles denied them both.

Madrid continued pressing after the interval, but the home support erupted when Arda Guler escaped a second yellow card. In the 59th minute, Hernandez finally sprang to life, combining with Fornals before mis-hitting a speculative effort.

His night ended in the 69th minute, and Parrott finally entered the fray. He went on to make the night his own in a thrilling finale.

Now Pellegrini is expected to start him against Lille on Tuesday for his Champions League debut. The learning process continues, but Parrott is up and running now.