Jose Mourinho Meets Real Madrid’s Heroes and Villains in Tense La Liga Opener

Real Madrid were hardly at their best in their 2026–27 La Liga opener, but they still walked away with three points against Espanyol on Saturday.

José Mourinho kicked off his second stint in charge with a 2–1 victory at the RCDE Stadium thanks to goals from Jude Bellingham and Carlos Espí. The England international buried a powerful header in the ninth minute and then Los Blancos’ most underrated signing bagged the game-winner at the death of regulation.

Real Madrid turned what would have been a lackluster 1–1 draw into a last-gasp win, saving Mourinho and Co. from heaps of criticism ... well, almost. After all, there were still glaring problems all over the pitch for the 15-time European champions, and patience has run paper thin after two campaigns without a major trophy.

As always with Real Madrid, the biggest names—on the pitch, on the bench and on the touchline—produced plenty of talking points.

Carlos Espí Outshines His Fellow Debutants

All six of Real Madrid’s new signings made their official debuts on Saturday. Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konaté got the start from Mourinho while Yan Diomande, Marc Cucurella and Espí featured off the bench in the second half.

Of the summer arrivals, Espí was the one that arrived with the least amount of fanfare. Los Blancos triggered the striker’s $28.8 million (€25 million) release clause to bring him to the Bernabéu, where he ranked third in the pecking order behind Kylian Mbappé and Endrick.

Yet Espí quietly impressed in preseason and immediately moved up Mourinho’s rankings when Endrick suffered a muscular issue ahead of the league opener. The Spaniard raised his stock even further against Espanyol when he fired home a silky match-winner just 10 minutes after he entered the game.

Espí walked away from the RCDE Stadium as a hero, while some of his fellow summer signings were nothing more than an afterthought. Perhaps the biggest afterthought, though, is Endrick.

Vinícius Jr Falls Spectacuarly Flat

Vinícius Júnior had a night to forget in Catalonia. | Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Vinícius Jr dominated the headlines in Spain for so much of the summer, locked in war with Real Madrid over contract negotiations. The Brazilian finally got his wish, inking a six-year extension just days after he joined up with the team following the 2026 World Cup.

It was a preseason to forget for Vinícius Jr, who didn’t register a goal contribution in three appearances this summer. Three friendly performances hardly raised any alarm bells, but Saturday’s match certainly did.

All the shortcomings of Vinícius Jr’s game were on full display in Catalonia. Just a few minutes into the La Liga bout and the forward was being yelled at to press by Jude Bellingham. He then spent much of the first half on the ground, put there either by Espanyol players or himself.

Not much changed after the restart. Vinícius Jr was too easily bullied off the ball when pushing forward. He also was easy to read, looking to take on multiple defenders down the left flank with a cheeky step over or dribble that was calmly stopped by a player in blue and white stripes.

By the time the final whistle sounded, Vinícius Jr did not create a single chance, took just one shot and completed only 10 passes in 90 minutes on the pitch. It’s a wonder Mourinho even let him play all 90 minutes.

Mourinho’s Substitutions Almost Cost Real Madrid

Mourinho already turned heads when he overlooked Diomande and Trent Alexander-Arnold in his starting lineup on Saturday, and he caused even more of an uproar with his head-scratching substitutions.

The Portuguese boss replaced Arda Güler, the team’s best player and best playmaker on the night, in the 64th minute for Diomande. In just over an hour on the pitch, Güler created a game-high seven chances, tallied one assist and only misplaced three passes.

The Turkish midfielder was absolutely bossing the match, and yet Mourinho still pulled him from the game before any of his other players. There was a shockingly low amount of creativity and imagination once Güler came out of the game, so much so that Espanyol easily held Real Madrid quiet as the minutes stretched on.

What made Mourinho’s decision more perplexing was his reluctance to bring on Alexander-Arnold. Los Blancos were desperate for a goal, needing someone to create a bit of magic after finding no success in open play even after Diomande and Cucurella entered the game.

Yet Mourinho waited until the 80th minute to bring on one of the best playmakers in his squad. The decision ultimately did not come back to cost Real Madrid, but had Espí not salvaged the game, there would have been plenty of criticism waiting for Mourinho after the final whistle.

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