Mourinho's Real Madrid wins 2-1 with late goal against Espanyol

Real Madrid secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium, with Carlos Espí scoring a decisive goal in the 90th minute. This win marks José Mourinho's first three points in his second stint as the coach of the white-clad team.

The match seemed headed for a draw before Espí, described as a specialist in the penalty area that Real Madrid lacked, broke the deadlock. Jude Bellingham had initially put Real Madrid ahead in the 9th minute, but Calatrava equalized for Espanyol in the 30th minute. Real Madrid pressed more frequently towards the opponent's goal throughout the game, yet Espanyol remained engaged, seeking opportunities on the counter-attack.

Mourinho surprised with his starting lineup, notably including Bellingham, which shifted Arda Güler to the right wing. The Portuguese coach also opted for Dumfries over Trent and excluded Diomande while maintaining the core of Bellingham, Mbappé, and Vinicius Jr. The team adopted a vertical approach with few touches and focused on the right flank, with Dumfries overlapping Arda and applying intense pressure without the ball, leading to Bellingham's early goal from a set piece.

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Mourinho sorprendió con su alineación titular: la entrada de Bellingham en el once desplazó a Arda Güler, la gran figura de la pretemporada, a la banda derecha, y el técnico portugués optó por Dumfries en lugar de Trent, además de prescindir de Diomande mientras mantenía a la BMV (Bellingham, Mbappé y Vinicios Jr).

However, Real Madrid began to lose focus after a foul by Calatrava on Vinicius that the referee did not sanction, which seemed to unsettle the Brazilian player. Espanyol's player, Calatrava, capitalized on this lapse to become more active in attack. The Madrid team became stretched, allowing Javi Hernández to play between the lines and suffering an injury to Huijsen after a collision. In this period of lost control, Javi Hernández initiated the play that led to Calatrava's equalizer.

Real Madrid also struggled with midfield control, seeing little contribution from Bernardo and Valverde in their quick, few-touch game. Bellingham appeared fatigued, leaving the offensive burden to Arda and Mbappé's runs. Before halftime, Dmitrovic saved a shot from Güler and a cross from Roberto could have given Espanyol the lead.

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El Madrid tuvo además la falta de control en la medular, con poca aparición de Bernardo y Valverde en la propuesta de juego rápido y a pocos toques, y con un Bellingham fatigado que dejó el peso ofensivo a Arda y las arrancadas de Mbappé.