Mourinho Returns to Real Madrid, Beats Espanyol 2-1 on 90th-Minute Winner

Jose Mourinho is back at Real Madrid, and his first game in charge ended with a 90th-minute winner.

Real Madrid beat Espanyol 2-1 on Saturday at RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, according to AFP and confirmed by multiple outlets including Al Jazeera, France 24 and TSN. Substitute Carlos Espi scored the winner in the 90th minute, finishing off a loose ball after Kylian Mbappe was crowded out in the box.

Mourinho's first match in charge of Madrid came 4,380 days after his exit following the 2012-13 season, according to The Guardian. He returned as head coach in June 2026, 13 years after his first spell ended by mutual agreement, per TSN.

The Match Itself

Jude Bellingham gave Madrid an early lead in the 9th minute, heading home a free kick delivered by Arda Guler, according to TSN's match account. Bellingham had a strong debut season at Madrid after joining from Borussia Dortmund but struggled the following two years, along with the club, which failed to win a major trophy in either season.

Espanyol answered in the 30th minute. Alex Calatrava buried a cutback from Javi Hernandez to level the score, capping what TSN described as "neat build-up play." Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic then denied Mbappe multiple times, including a save with his legs and another on a low shot, according to TSN.

Federico Valverde hit the post late in the second half, and it looked like Madrid would be held to a draw against an Espanyol side that finished 11th last season under coach Manolo Gonzalez. Then Espi, signed from Levante this past summer, struck in stoppage time to win it.

Espi's path to the winning goal is notable. The Guardian reported he is still living at Madrid's Valdebebas training ground, sharing breakfast every morning with Mourinho, and was signed specifically to be "an old-school No. 9" with a presence in the box, a different profile than the club's other attackers.

Mourinho fielded a lineup stacked with Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Bellingham, while giving debuts to new arrivals Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konate, according to AFP's reporting carried by Al Jazeera, beIN Sports and France 24. Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, whose transfer from Leipzig could rise to 120 million pounds according to TSN, also made his debut off the bench.

Mourinho Defends Vinicius

After the match, Mourinho used his press conference to defend Vinicius Junior, who had limited impact on the game beyond drawing fouls from Espanyol defenders, according to AFP's account.

"Vini is not a saint, but what they do to him is too much," Mourinho said, according to quotes carried by TSN and France 24. "It started in the first minute, I think it's something systemic, it's done in a systemic way. First I hack him, then you, then me, then you, if I get a yellow then you do it. I have a yellow so I go off, and someone comes on without a yellow... it's frustrating for him."

Forbes reported Mourinho went further in comments to other reporters, calling it "bullying" and drawing an explicit comparison to broader social attitudes. "We are in a social era of anti-bullying and with Vini we are still in bullying, of adversaries and of the public," Mourinho said, according to Forbes. "We have to educate and prepare him to the maximum and that's it."

Forbes also noted the irony in Mourinho's position: he referenced his own comments from when he managed Benfica against Madrid last season, acknowledging he was previously on the other side of these confrontations as Vinicius's opponent. "I have the risk that you go back months and dig my words up from when I was Vini's opponent," Mourinho said, according to Forbes.

On the result itself, Mourinho was measured rather than triumphant. "I think that we deserved to win but that Espanyol didn't deserve to lose," he told reporters, according to AFP. "They didn't have any players at the World Cup and have been working together for a long time, and you could see that."

Most wire-based accounts, including beIN Sports and Yahoo Sports UK, ran the same AFP dispatch nearly verbatim, meaning the bulk of the coverage traces back to a single original report rather than independent reporting. The Guardian's piece stood apart by focusing on Mourinho's demeanor and restraint on the touchline rather than just the scoreline, describing him staying composed as his bench emptied to celebrate the winning goal.

Madrid's task now shifts to Real Sociedad, according to Forbes, as Mourinho tries to build on an unconvincing but successful opening result while restoring order to a Madrid dressing room that struggled through the chaos of last season. Whether Espi's late impact earns him more minutes as an alternative center-forward option will depend on decisions the coaching staff makes in the coming weeks.