Jose Mourinho began his second spell as Real Madrid manager with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Espanyol in their opening La Liga fixture on Saturday.
Substitute Carlos Espi scored in the 90th minute to secure all three points for Madrid after Alex Calatrava had cancelled out Jude Bellingham’s first-half opener.
The victory marked Mourinho’s return to the Real Madrid dugout 13 years after he left the club. The Portuguese manager has been tasked with restoring stability to the dressing room and challenging Barcelona’s dominance of Spanish football.
Mourinho named a star-studded starting XI featuring Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Bellingham, while new signings Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konate were handed their debuts.
Bellingham, who enjoyed an impressive first season at Madrid after joining from Borussia Dortmund, was deployed in an attacking midfield role with freedom to move across the pitch.
The England international was heavily involved as Madrid controlled much of the early proceedings before opening the scoring.
Bellingham headed home Arda Guler’s dangerous free-kick delivery to give Mourinho his first goal since returning to the Spanish giants.
Espanyol responded strongly and came close to equalising midway through the first half, but Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a fine save to deny Clemens Riedel.
Roberto Fernandez also went close shortly afterwards, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.
Madrid maintained pressure after the interval but were unable to extend their lead, allowing Espanyol to remain in contention.
The hosts eventually drew level through Calatrava, setting up a tense finale.
With the match seemingly heading for a draw, Mourinho turned to his substitutes, and Espi made an immediate impact by scoring in the 90th minute to give Madrid a winning start to the new campaign.
The result gives Mourinho an early boost as he begins his second tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu, with expectations high that he can restore Madrid to domestic and European prominence.
