Mourinho survives the first battle: Real Madrid's old problems resurface
3 points with a taste of anxiety!
Jose Mourinho began his second spell in charge of Real Madrid with a late 2-1 win over Espanyol on Saturday. The victory papered over familiar cracks. Some of the problems that have plagued Los Blancos over the past two seasons resurfaced at the RCDE Stadium, and Mourinho has yet to provide the answers the club's fans are waiting for.
Bellingham struck early in his side's first competitive match under Mourinho, putting Real Madrid ahead in the ninth minute. Espanyol hit back around 20 minutes later through Alex Calatrava. Then, in the very last minute, new signing Carlos Espi settled it.
A perfect start, then Real Madrid's struggles began
Real Madrid came out with clear attacking intent, and it took them just a few minutes to turn that dominance into a goal. Arda Guler whipped in a precise cross, Jude Bellingham rose to meet it and slotted home in the ninth minute. The lead did not bring the control they wanted, though. Espanyol quickly steadied themselves and began to threaten Thibaut Courtois's goal.
Courtois rescued Real Madrid from a dangerous chance in the 26th minute. Minutes later, Alex Calatrava levelled the score.
Espanyol carried the greater threat through important spells of the first half, despite trailing on the scoreboard.
The equaliser exposes the most dangerous flaw
Espanyol's goal was no isolated defensive lapse. It reopened an old question about the balance of the defensive line. Real Madrid lacked a genuine defensive anchor in that instance, someone to intervene early and halt the attack or read the pass that ended with the shot inside the box. These details matter all the more when the team leans so heavily on players with an attacking bent, because any loss of possession can leave a worrying amount of space in front of the back line.
Should Mourinho want to impose a more rigorous style, fixing the flaws in this area will be one of the most notable issues to watch in the coming matches.
Possession without solutions: Mbappé squanders a precious chance
Real Madrid improved after the break, taking greater control of the ball. Turning that control into clear chances proved a different matter. At times the ideas dried up against a stubborn Espanyol defence, and the hosts kept threatening Courtois on the counter-attack.
Espí saves Mourinho from a worrying start
Just when it seemed Real Madrid were heading towards a draw, the bench provided the answer. Substitute Espi pounced on defensive confusion inside the penalty area and fired in a powerful strike in the 90th minute, handing his side the win and their first three points of the new Mourinho era.
That goal offered a positive sign about the substitutes' ability to make a difference. It doesn't hide the fact, though, that Real Madrid failed to settle the match through clear attacking superiority. The win came from exploiting a moment of confusion in Espanyol's defence, not from an organised attacking sequence reflecting complete control by the Whites.
Mourinho wins, but the real test has not yet begun
The result gave Mourinho a perfect start, but it offered little proof that Real Madrid had shaken off the problems that dogged them over the past two seasons. A shortage of attacking solutions, trouble controlling the tempo, gaps that let the opponent create danger: all surfaced to varying degrees against Espanyol.
One match, of course, settles nothing. The team is still early in the campaign and needs time to absorb their coach's ideas. Repeat these flaws against stronger opponents, though, and what showed in Catalonia tonight shifts from early observation to sign of something deeper.
Three points went to Real Madrid, and for Mourinho that matters most at this stage. Yet the performance left the question hanging. Was this simply a hard-fought win at the start of a season, or will the same problems linger despite the Portuguese's return?
