Mourinho begins second Real Madrid spell with late win over Espanyol

Jose Mourinho’s second spell as Real Madrid manager started with a late 2-1 win over Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham gave Madrid the lead, but Alex Calatrava equalised for Espanyol. Substitute Carlos Espi then scored in the 90th minute to give Madrid all three points.

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“I think we deserved to win, but Espanyol didn’t deserve to lose,” Mourinho told reporters.

“They didn’t have any players at the World Cup and have been working together for a long time, and you could see that.”

Mourinho returned to Madrid 13 years after leaving the club. He now has the job of rebuilding the team after a difficult previous season and trying to stop Barcelona’s dominance in Spanish football.

He started with Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Bellingham, while new signings Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konate made their debuts.

Bellingham, who joined Madrid from Borussia Dortmund, had a strong first season at the club, but his next two seasons were disappointing. Madrid also failed to win a major trophy during that period.

Mourinho gave Bellingham a more attacking role, allowing him to move freely around the midfield. The England international responded by scoring Madrid’s first goal of the season, heading in Arda Guler’s free-kick.

Espanyol created a few chances, but Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a good save to deny Clemens Riedel.

Espanyol eventually equalised in the 30th minute when Calatrava finished Javi Hernandez’s pass after a good team move.

Espanyol fight hard

Mbappe came close to scoring, but Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic made a good save.

Vinicius also struggled to have much influence as Espanyol worked hard to stop him.

“Vini is not a saint, but what they do to him is too much. It started in the first minute,” Mourinho said.

“First I foul him, then you, then me, then you. If I get a yellow card, you do it. I have a yellow, so I go off and someone else comes on without a yellow. It’s frustrating for him.”

Mourinho brought on new signings Yan Diomande and Marc Cucurella as Madrid pushed for a winner.

Federico Valverde hit the post, but Espanyol continued to defend well.

Madrid finally got the winning goal in the 90th minute when Espi, one of the club’s lesser-known new signings, picked up a loose ball inside the box and fired it into the net.

“We carried out our plan well and then conceded that goal at the end,” Calatrava said.

“Conceding was a gut punch because we worked hard until the end.”

Earlier, Sevilla beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1, while Valencia and Celta Vigo played out a 0-0 draw.

On Sunday, defending champions Barcelona will begin their season away to Elche, while Atletico Madrid will host Villarreal.