José Mourinho returns to Real Madrid as Carlos Espí seals late win at Espanyol
José Mourinho marked his return to Real Madrid with a 90th-minute winner by Carlos Espí to beat Espanyol on his first match in charge in 4,380 days at Espanyol.
Photographers swarmed the bench as Mourinho took his place for the game that was his first since a 4-2 win over Osasuna in May 2013, and the evening ended with him embracing Espanyol coach Manolo González, exchanging high-fives with the referee and then disappearing down the tunnel. Club president Florentino Pérez had pursued Mourinho’s return for years, and the manager told a story that after every trophy Madrid won he used to receive calls from Pérez; “I always said no, no, no, it was nothing to do with me,” Mourinho said. He also described himself as “not the kind of man who misses anything”, someone who has “regrets”.
The match opened with Jude Bellingham giving Madrid the lead after nine minutes when Arda Guler’s left-wing cross met his header past Marko Dimitrovic; Mourinho had explained his decision to deploy Bellingham at No 10 with a direct quote: “For me this is his [Jude’s] position: the connection with the forwards, he can score goals. He has to play close to the goal. Playing at 6 or 8 we’re losing his closeness to the goal.” Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé started together, with Mourinho saying he did not believe the trio were incompatible: “I don’t think they’re incompatible.”
Espanyol responded and levelled after a period in which Madrid’s intensity waned. Thibaut Courtois saved from Riedel but Roberto Fernández could not keep down the follow-up, and then a move involving Tuy Dolan and Javi Hernández set up Alex Calatrava to score for the hosts. On another occasion Omar El Hilali supplied a cross that Dolan failed to reach and Fernández nodded back toward his own feet; by half-time and at intervals thereafter Espanyol had produced chances that suggested they might lead.
Madrid created openings after the break — Bellingham hit the bar via Dimitrovic’s hand from a Guler corner and the rebound fell to Mbappé, who missed; Fede Valverde struck a post and Mbappé forced further saves from Dimitrovic — but could not find a settled way through until the 90th minute. A broken move in the area saw Mbappé slip as the ball ran away from him and Espí, a 21-year-old signed from Levante six months ago, was on hand to force the ball over the line and secure victory. Espí had been credited with helping Levante avoid relegation last season and is living at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground, sharing breakfast with Mourinho.
Mourinho introduced Yan Diomande, described in the report as the club’s most expensive signing, and his substitutions featured players including Cucurella, Diomande, Camavinga, Alexander-Arnold and Espí. Diomande had declared he was ready to “die” for his coach, a phrase Mourinho acknowledged as rhetorical but that he welcomed. The manager kept his composure for much of the night — he initially stayed seated after Bellingham’s early goal, choosing to walk along the touchline rather than sprint with the bench — but was visibly moved when the late winner arrived, pulling Valverde aside for a word as substitutes celebrated.
Mourinho reflected on the match with a note of restraint: “I think we deserved to win, but Espanyol didn’t deserve to lose.” He warned that change would not be immediate, saying that solutions are not instant and asserting: “We have to try not to negotiate things that are non-negotiable,” and that “Commitment can’t be missing.”
He also acknowledged there will be tougher examinations ahead for both the squad and his own temperament, noting that it is early and that “there will be other days, sterner tests of this team; there will also be sterner tests of Mourinho’s temperament, of course.”