Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid Begins with Late Drama
Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid return began the only way he truly knows how: with late drama, clenched fists and a 90th-minute winner.
On a tense LaLiga afternoon at Espanyol, substitute Carlos Espi — the least heralded of Madrid’s summer signings — stepped out of the shadows to decide it, smashing home a loose ball in the box to seal a 2-1 victory and launch Mourinho’s second era with three precious points.
Bellingham strikes first
All eyes were on the dugout before kick-off. Thirteen years after walking away from the Bernabeu, Mourinho was back, charged with calming a fractured dressing room and wrestling domestic control away from Barcelona. On the pitch, the cast was unmistakably galáctico.
Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all started. Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konaté made their debuts. This was not a quiet reset; it was a statement.
Bellingham, repositioned by Mourinho as a free-roaming attacking midfielder, quickly looked like the heartbeat of the side. After two flat seasons following his explosive first campaign in Spain, the England international was everywhere — drifting into pockets, driving at the back line, linking with Mbappé and Vinicius.
The breakthrough belonged to him. Midway through the first half, Arda Güler whipped in a vicious, teasing free-kick from the right. Bellingham timed his run perfectly and rose to glance a header beyond Marko Dmitrovic. The first goal of Mourinho’s second spell, and fittingly, it came from the player he has handed the keys of the midfield.
Espanyol hit back
The lead did not bring control. It brought warning signs.
Clemens Riedel stung Thibaut Courtois’ palms with a fierce drive, the Madrid goalkeeper beating the ball away with both hands. Moments later, Roberto Fernandez hooked over from inside the area. The chances were clear. The response from Madrid was not.
Espanyol sensed uncertainty and punished it on the half-hour. A slick team move carved open the visitors down the left, Javi Hernandez cutting the ball back smartly into space. Alex Calatrava arrived and finished calmly, slotting past Courtois to level the match and jolt Mourinho’s side.
Madrid’s front line tried to reassert control. Mbappé, LaLiga’s top scorer in each of his two previous seasons at the club, burst in behind on the right and bore down on goal, but Dmitrovic stood tall and blocked his effort. The Frenchman buzzed around the box but lacked his usual ruthless edge.
The game tightened, the noise inside the stadium grew, and Mourinho prowled his technical area, already living every second of his return.
Mourinho turns to his bench
The second half became a test of patience and nerve. Espanyol dug in, defended their box with conviction and waited for gaps on the break. Madrid pushed higher, but clear chances remained scarce.
Mourinho rolled the dice.
On came record signing Yan Diomande and Marc Cucurella, two more new faces thrown into the fire as Madrid hunted a late winner. The changes injected energy, but Espanyol’s resistance stiffened.
Federico Valverde came closest. From the edge of the area, he drilled a low shot that skimmed past Dmitrovic and thudded against the outside of the post. For a moment, the away end thought it was in. It wasn’t. The clock kept ticking.
Just as the match seemed to be slipping away, the pressure finally told.
Espi steals the spotlight
Ninety minutes on the clock. A scramble in the Espanyol area. The ball broke loose.
Carlos Espi, the former Levante striker and the most low-profile of Madrid’s summer arrivals, reacted quicker than anyone. One touch, one clean strike, and the ball flew past Dmitrovic. 2-1. Mourinho’s bench erupted.
For a coach tasked with restoring ruthlessness and edge, there was no better script: a late, scrappy, hard-earned winner away from home, delivered not by Mbappé or Vinicius, but by a squad player fighting for his place.
Espanyol, who had defended stoutly for long stretches, were left with nothing to show for their effort. Madrid walked away with everything that mattered.
Earlier in the day, Sevilla had claimed a 3-1 win at Athletic Bilbao, while Valencia and Celta Vigo played out a goalless draw. But all eyes were always going to be on Mourinho.
One game into his second reign, the performance was uneven, the defending shaky, the finishing wasteful. The result, though, was pure Mourinho. Now the question hangs over LaLiga: if this is how Real Madrid start, what happens when they truly click?
