Real Madrid beat Espanyol with late Carlos Espi goal in Mourinho return
Substitute Carlos Espi scored a 90th-minute winner to secure Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over Espanyol and give Jose Mourinho a successful start to his second managerial spell.
The Portuguese coach returned to the dugout for the Spanish giants after a 13-year absence.
It appeared his homecoming would end in a frustrating La Liga draw before the late intervention from the summer signing.
Bellingham strikes before Espanyol response
England international Jude Bellingham gave the visitors a perfect start by heading home the opening goal just nine minutes into the contest in Barcelona.
However, the hosts responded strongly and found an equaliser on the half-hour mark through Cala.
The match remained finely balanced until the dying moments when Kylian Mbappe was dispossessed inside the penalty area.
The loose ball fell perfectly for Espi to fire past goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic just 10 minutes after being introduced from the bench.
A night of notable debuts
The 21-year-old match-winner arrived from Levante for a reported 25m euros (£21.4m) following a standout individual campaign.
His decisive strike was his 11th league goal since late February, representing the highest tally of any player in the division during that timeframe.
Mourinho named Marc Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries and Bernardo Silva in his starting lineup.
This marked the first time Los Blancos had fielded three debutants in their opening league fixture since Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema featured in 2009.
Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, who became the club’s most expensive summer recruit following his 125m euro (£107m) transfer from RB Leipzig, also made his first appearance as a second-half replacement for Arda Guler.