Zinedine Zidane lamented Real Madrid’s home form as the defending Spanish and European champions slipped to a surprise 1-0 defeat by Real Betis on Wednesday.

The result means Real are without a win in their three league games at the Bernabéu this season, having also drawn with Valencia and Levante. Zidane’s side are seventh in the table, seven points behind the leaders, Barcelona, who are the only side left in La Liga with a perfect record after five games.

Real enjoyed 60% possession and had 27 efforts on goal to the visitors’ 12, but lost to Antonio Sanabria’s header deep in stoppage time.

The result also ended a run of 73 matches since Real last failed to score, and was their first blank in La Liga since a defeat by Atlético in February 2016. That was largely down to the former Real goalkeeper Antonio Adán, who denied his former club with a string of second-half saves.

“The ball just didn’t want to go in for us,” Zidane said. “If you score one chance it’s a totally different game but when it doesn’t want to go in, results like this can happen. We need to remain calm but it’s just two points from nine at home.

“I feel for the players, the effort they’ve put in. When the opponent scores like that at the end it hurts. Next time we have a game at home we have to ensure that we do everything we can to win and change this bad run.”

Antonio Sanabria celebrates after his last-gasp winner for Real Betis. Photograph: Javier Lopez/EPA

Cristiano Ronaldo, starting his first La Liga game of the season following suspension, saw a goalbound effort scrambled away during an even first 45 minutes, with Sanabria’s shot cleared off the line for Betis.

After the restart it was a different story as Madrid laid siege to Adán’s goal. Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale both hit the woodwork, while Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were denied by the hosts’ former youth team goalkeeper..

Ronaldo then snatched at a couple of opportunities, and the mood soured further when the full-back Marcelo hobbled off midway through the second half. As Real pushed forward in search of a winner, Sanabria had a 90th-minute goal ruled out for offside, but made amends with his winner.

“It’s not normal in these matches at home against sides who on paper would normally be leaving the Bernabéu with a different result,” the Real captain, Sergio Ramos, said. “Hopefully it’s just a problem with being clinical. We did everything we could but there’s not been a ruthless side to our finishing. Another day it finishes 4-0 or 4-1 and everything is OK.”

Zidane added: “We played better than Betis but the result is what matters. I would prefer to play badly and take the three points. We had possession, chances. Last year we won some games we didn’t deserve to and this year it looks like the opposite but we can’t go mad about it.”