Real Madrid Player Ratings vs. Espanyol: Vintage Last-Gasp Heroics Kick Off Mourinho Era

Real Madrid stole three points from Espanyol on Saturday night, securing a 2–1 win at the death to kick off their 2026–27 La Liga campaign.

The 15-time European champions got the game off to a dream start, taking the lead in the ninth minute thanks to a bit of set piece magic. Arda Güler delivered a sensational ball that Jude Bellingham headed home to put the visitors up 1–0 early.

Los Blancos slowly lost their grasp on the game as the first half stretched on and paid the price when Álex Calatrava sent an equalizer past Thibaut Courtois at the half-hour mark. The level score should have emboldened José Mourinho’s men, but they instead fell flat, finding no answers even after what was surely a stern talking to at halftime.

Real Madrid looked destined to leave Catalonia with just one point, but new signing Carlos Espí rose to the occasion in the 90th minute, finishing off a solid play from Kylian Mbappé to fire home the game-winning goal.

It was hardly an impressive win for the Spanish giants, but they at least started Mourinho’s second stint with three points.

The Problem That Won’t Go Away

It’s a new season, but the same old problems exist for Real Madrid. Like so many times in the last two campaigns, the 15-time European champions were lost trying to break down a disciplined low block from an inferior Spanish team.

Vinícius Júnior was up to his same old tricks down the left flank and was easily read by the Espanyol defense. Mbappé squandered the best chance of the second half, sending a header wide of a gaping goal.

There was little penetration or line-breaking passes from Federico Valverde or Bernardo Silva. Player after player lobbed in crosses without any intent as the clock ticked on.

Desperation mounted for Mbappé or Vinícius Jr to pull a rabbit out of a hat to salvage another lackluster outing from Real Madrid. But the two players never truly looked to be on the same page, and needed Espí to bail them—and the team—out in the dying stages.

Real Madrid fans will be happy with three points, but the victory was completly tainted by all the deafening alarm bells ringing in Catalonia. There is still a lot of work to do before this team looks capable of dethroning Barcelona.

Real Madrid Player Ratings vs. Espanyol (4-3-2-1)

Carlos Espí (left) played hero for Real Madrid. | Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Thibaut Courtois—6.7: Rarely called into action. Once again let down by his teammates on Espanyol’s goal.

RB: Denzel Dumfries—7.2: Needed Konaté to track back for him after pushing too far forward on multiple occasions. Beaten down his flank in the build-up to Espanyol’s opener. Got himself into decent positions in the final third, but lacked the end product.

CB: Ibrahima Konaté—7.7: A strong debut. Used his strength to bully players off the ball and his towering height to make timely clearances. Looked a bit lost at times with his positioning inside the box.

CB: Dean Huijsen—7.1: Showed off his passing range, which included five passes into the final third. Solid in defense and shed some blood along the way.

LB: Álvaro Carreras—7.4: Avoided any costly mistakes, which is a win for the fullback considering how last season went. Connected passes well with the midfield.

DM: Bernardo Silva—7.1: Tidy in possession and had impressive spurts controlling the tempo of the game, but too inconsistent to be a major factor. Won just two of his nine duels.

DM: Federico Valverde—8.1: Caught completely ball watching on Calatrava’s goal. Let the midfielder run into the box unmarked while he stood still and shouted orders. Saw a good look denied by the outside of the right post.

RW: Arda Güler—8.5: Set up the game’s opening goal with an excellent set-piece delivery. Picked his head up to create nearly every time he got on the ball in space. Easily the best playmaker on the pitch and did not deserve to come off just past the hour-mark.

AM: Jude Bellingham—8.3: Picked up where he left off this summer for England. Bagged the first goal of the Mourinho era and made countless dangerous runs forward, putting on a skills display as he went.

LW: Vinícius Júnior—7.2: Beaten up all night long, but still went down too easily at times. Struggled to affect the game in any positive way and ended the night with zero chances created and zero shots on target.

ST: Kylian Mbappé—7.4: Frustrated enough to drift to the right wing in the first half, where he had a few decent chances but couldn’t capitalize. Shockingly sent a header wide after the restart but made up for it by carving out the space for the game-winner.

SUB: Yan Diomande (64’ for Güler)—6.4: Sent in some decent balls and started the action that led to Espí’s winner. Took too many touches inside the box at times.

SUB: Marc Cucurella (64’ for Carreras)—6.7: Still shaking off some World Cup rust, but played well. Needs to develop chemistry with Vinícius Jr.

SUB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (80’ for Dumfries)—6.3: A solid cameo without much to show for it.

SUB: Eduardo Camavinga (80’ for Silva)—6.4: Did not misplace a pass.

SUB: Carlos Espí (80’ for Bellingham)—7.5: Played hero for Real Madrid by scoring the match-winner on his debut.

Subs not used: Andriy Lunin (GK), Sergio Mestre (GK), Antonio Rüdiger, Mario Rivas, Jorge Cestero, Alexis Ciria, Brahim Díaz.

What the Ratings Tell Us

Denzel Dumfries struggled to leave his mark in his Real Madrid debut. | Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Mourinho preferred the more defensively-sound Denzel Dumfries over Trent Alexander-Arnold on Saturday, but the irony of the choice was on full display when the Dutchman got outclassed by Javi Hernández on Espanyol’s equalizer. There was also little threat from Dumfries going forward, so much so that Mbappé took over the right side of the pitch for much of the first half. Mourinho traded Alexander-Arnold’s attacking prowess for defensive security, and in the end got neither.
Federico Valverde had a night to forget, an occurrence that has become too frequent for the Uruguayan when he plays in his natural position. The midfielder was caught completely lacking on Calatrava’s goal and struggled to exert his grip on the game, as did Bernardo Silva alongside him. Real Madrid’s midfield woes are very much still present.
Not part of the problem were Arda Güler and Jude Bellingham. The two players were at the center of everything that went right for Los Blancos on Saturday. Their combined creativity and tenacity without the ball will no doubt earn the praise of their new manager and showed they can indeed play together.

The Numbers That Explain Real Madrid’s Opening Win

Real Madrid had 63% posession, yet only created three big chances on the night. There was once again too little creativty and imagination coming from the midfield.
Espanyol committed 19 fouls in 90 minutes, frustrating the visitors to no end. Four players in blue and white walked away with yellow cards.
Los Blancos sent 21 shots at Marko Dmitrović, but only eight were on target. The team too often failed to send quality chances at the goalkeeper.

Statistic	Espanyol	Real Madrid
Posession	37%	63%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.12	2.92
Total Shots	8	21
Shots on Target	3	8
Big Chances	2	3
Pass Accuracy	83%	92%
Fouls	19	7
Corners	0	8

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