Resurgent Isco haunts former club Madrid with winning goal for Betis

La Liga champions Real Madrid suffered a 2-1 defeat at Real Betis on Saturday which coach Carlo Ancelotti said was a "big blow" to their title defence, while Atletico Madrid took advantage to move top of the table.

Diego Simeone's side scraped a nervy 1-0 win against Athletic Bilbao, fourth, to lead Barcelona and Real Madrid by two points.

For Betis, Isco scored the winner from the penalty spot against his former side Madrid, third, with Barca in action on Sunday against Real Sociedad and able to reclaim top spot with a win.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti picked a strong lineup, with no breathing room in the title race, despite the impending Champions League clash against rivals Atletico.

"If we play like this on Tuesday, we will not win," said Ancelotti, whose side have one win in their last five Liga matches.

The visitors took the lead at the Benito Villamarin stadium through Brahim Diaz but Betis struck back with a Johnny Cardoso header as Real Madrid missed the suspended Jude Bellingham.

Isco secured the Andalusian side a deserved victory with a penalty early in the second half.

"It's a big blow. We have to react," continued Ancelotti.

"We started well, but later we did not have the same level of commitment, the game got out of control against a side that played better than us and deserved to win."

Isco returned to action in December after missing several months with a broken leg and has hit top form in recent weeks.

"About halfway through the first half, we stepped up our game, and I'm happy with the win against the best team around these days," said the playmaker, who won several major trophies with Real Madrid before departing in 2022.

Madrid started the stronger and opened the scoring after just 10 minutes, putting together a fine team move with 19 passes.

It culminated when Kylian Mbappe found Ferland Mendy, who squared for Diaz to tuck home.

Betis soon found their footing and Cardoso powered a header past Thibaut Courtois from Isco's corner to level.

Without Bellingham's dynamism in midfield, Madrid were outfought by Betis.

Manuel Pellegrini's side took the lead early in the second half from the penalty spot when Antonio Rudiger crashed into Jesus Rodriguez as he ran in on goal.

Isco smashed home for his sixth goal across all competitions.

For the final 15 minutes, Ancelotti replaced Mbappe, who had dental trouble ahead of the game, with Endrick.

"He had that (tooth) problem, he hadn't trained a lot," explained Ancelotti. "He was not at his best level."