Carlos Espi, Real Madrid's new star
Carlos Espi, Real Madrid's new star
Real Madrid kicked off their new campaign with a win last night against Espanyol, but it was anything but comfortable.
Jose Mourinho’s side were made to suffer in Barcelona against a spirited Espanyol side who came out all guns blazing to punish Los Blancos’ shaky defence.
It was a special night in some senses as the likes of Marc Cucurella, Yan Diomande, Bernardo Silva, Carlos Espi and Ibrahima Konate all made their official debuts.
Yet, it was also a night that showed that there is still a long way to go before Mourinho’s effects can be seen in the squad. After all, there was not much to celebrate on the night beyond the debuts and a few solid showings.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid.
Reminiscent of last season
Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid manager
Mourinho would have hoped for a better performance. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
It’s as if the manager never changed. A new look Real Madrid took to the field last night against Espanyol, boasting of a fresh start and new ideas, but there was seemingly nothing different.
In fact, had there been no knowledge of Jose Mourinho’s arrival, one would have definitely put their money on Alvaro Arbeloa still being at the helm going purely by how Real Madrid turned up last night.
There were very clear complaints about Real Madrid’s lacunae last season, beginning from the unorganised defence and lack of creativity in midfield to the incoherent attack.
The forwards were criticised for not participating in the press, and the team often left games late to win with individual brilliance.
That was exactly what unfolded against Espanyol in Jose Mourinho’s first official game in charge of the club.
Los Blancos’ defence last night was out of sync and often left large spaces for Espanyol to run into. The goal scored by the hosts was a testament to the same.
In midfield, they once again lacked creativity and control, and it was evident throughout the buildup phase of the game. Barring a few moments of brilliance, the chance creation was limited and the team were left scrambling for a winner until the dying moments.
In the end, it again required individual brilliance from Carlos Espi to seal the win, and Real Madrid just scraped past the finish line just as they did regularly last season.
Vinicius and Mbappe fail to click
Vinicius Jr., Real Madrid superstar
It wasn’t the night for Vinicius Jr. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
As always, all eyes were on the team’s two star forwards last night as Real Madrid began the new season, especially after both shone at the FIFA World Cup with their respective nations.
Both Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr started on the night, and there was hope that there would be an improvement in their synergy after the break.
The signs the game left, however, were anything but encouraging as both players were far from their best and anything but in sync.
Coming off a run of great form, Mbappe looked completely lost in front of goal and often took away chances that could have been well set up for his teammates.
In 90 minutes, the Frenchman made nothing of an xG of 1.53, took a total of ten shots of which just three were on target and even missed two big chances. In that sense, it was a performance very uncharacteristic of Mbappe.
Vinicius, meanwhile, was very disappointing on the flank as he racked up just one shot all game and completed a meagre nine accurate passes of 13 attempted in 90 minutes. He did complete three successful dribbles, but his success rate was under 50%.
The player barely contributed to Real Madrid’s creativity, delivered no crosses and barely created any chances of importance. His synchrony with Mbappe, meanwhile, was nonexistent.
At Real Madrid, it always is about the big names, and Jose Mourinho must bring the best out of the star duo soon. The signs from last night’s game are anything but promising, but there are indeed still early days.
Guler and Bellingham shine
As ironic as it is, Real Madrid’s best performers last night were in midfield despite the team lacking rhythm and control in the department.
Carlos Espi and Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid stars
It was an encouraging display from Bellingham. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
Arda Guler, in particular, was an absolute standout for Real Madrid on that front as he was seemingly everywhere on the field.
The young Turk excelled on the ball with his creativity and picked out the right passes to unlock Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe. His press resistance also helped the team to some extent and he stood out with his defensive work rate as well.
In 64 minutes, Guler produced three defensive contributions, won five ground duels and completed 93% of his passes. He also made a staggering seven key passes and earned an assist.
His partner in the advanced midfield – Juve Bellingham, also produced a massive shift for the team and was one of the most confident and productive threats for the team in the final third.
Not only did he score the team’s vital opener, but the Englishman made Espanyol’s box his own territory with two shots on target and one off the woodwork. He completed 93% of his passes, 100% of long passes and had two key passes against Espanyol.
The midfield duo, in that sense, were the heart and soul of Real Madrid’s win and are seemingly undroppable in Mourinho’s system. It remains to be seen how the manager accommodates the team’s new record signing Yan Diomande with the duo in the coming days.
Jose Mourinho of Real Madrid
Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images
Real Madrid’s first La Liga clash of the new season is finally here, and Jose Mourinho and Co. are finally prepared to face and step into the 2026-27 campaign.
Given the summer transfer window that Los Blancos have enjoyed, there is a lot of expectation for them to deliver strong results immediately.
The managerial appointment of Jose Mourinho has only further turned up the heat on the players who are now working harder than ever on both a physical and tactical level.
For the first clash of the new season, Real Madrid travel to Catalonia where they will lock horns against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium.
Last season, Los Blancos picked up a win at the venue but notably failed to register a win in two of the three games prior to that against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Espanyol vs Real Madrid.
The start of a must-win campaign
Real Madrid and Barcelona have largely enjoyed a duopoly over La Liga in the past, but the results in recent seasons have not quite carried that trend.
Over the past two seasons in particular, Barcelona have dominated in the competition and stepped up their level exactly when required to steer clear of Real Madrid’s threat.
Los Blancos have indeed led the race in both of the previous two seasons, but eventually fell short on both occasions owing to a number of reasons.
Having lost two consecutive La Liga campaigns, there is now serious pressure on Real Madrid to win the competition. After all, they have spent heavily this summer for starters, and to lose three in a row would be a new low.
In many ways, the campaign Los Blancos will kick off tomorrow night in La Liga will be a virtual must-win from the administration’s perspective, and Real Madrid will look to get started with a win.
All eyes on Mourinho’s lineup
Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid manager
Some big decisions await. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)
So drastic have been the moves made by Real Madrid this summer that the team is barely recognisable on the surface.
From the managerial post to the training staff and the first-team players, there have been numerous changes that Florentino Perez and Co. have overseen, all with the hope of getting the team back on track.
The architect of the project, needless to say, is Jose Mourinho and the manager will look to not only bring back Real Madrid’s intensity but also their dominance.
Tomorrow’s clash against Espanyol, in that sense, is the first time the world will get a look at Mourinho’s plan for Real Madrid. There will be special focus on the manager’s formation, dynamics, tactics and even substitutions to outline how the season will flow.
The lineup the manager chooses for the first game, after all, is a reliable indicator of where various players fit on his pecking order, and Mourinho has some massive decisions to make on that front.
For starters, there is a battle between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Denzel Dumfries at right-back; Dean Huijsen, Antonio Rudiger and Ibrahima Konate at centre-back and Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Bernardo Silva and Eduardo Camavinga for the deep midfield.
Mourinho’s selection of personnel, thus, will speak volumes and help fans decode the plan he has in mind to take Real Madrid back to success.
A night of debuts
Real Madrid went all out to bring in new players this summer and sealed a total of six arrivals over the past two months.
Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, Bernardo Silva, Carlos Espi, Yan Diomande and Marc Cucurella have all arrived as new signings and have all made their debuts for Real Madrid in at least one pre-season friendly.
Tomorrow’s game, however, will be special for the aforementioned six players on a completely different level. After all, it will be their official debut for the team which will go down in the history books.
It remains to be seen if any of the new arrivals start the clash against Espanyol on Saturday night. Diomande, Dumfries and Cucurella are expected to have the highest chances of starting while Bernardo Silva also retains a positive chance.
For Konate and Espi, however, the official debuts will likely arrive off the bench based on the game state and the manager’s dynamics.
Fans, needless to say, will have their focus fixated on the adaptation and performance of the new signings who feature.