Mourinho starts second Real Madrid spell with dramatic 90th-minute win

Jose Mourinho’s first competitive match back in charge of Real Madrid ended in last-gasp drama as debutant Carlos Espi scored a 90th-minute winner to beat Espanyol 2-1.

Real took an early lead in the 9th minute when Jude Bellingham powered home Arda Guler’s wide free-kick. But Espanyol hit back in the 30th minute through summer signing Cala, who tapped in Javi Hernandez’s cut-back.

The Spanish giants dominated after that and twice hit the woodwork. Bellingham saw another header tipped onto the bar by Marko Dmitrovic, while Federico Valverde struck the base of the post, reports the BBC.

Mourinho turned to his bench to find a breakthrough, introducing summer arrivals including Espi, Marc Cucurella, Yan Diomande — Real’s £120m record signing from RB Leipzig — and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

It paid off. Espi, a £21m arrival from Levante, finished calmly after Diomande found Kylian Mbappe in the box and the ball broke to him.

“Frustrated” for much of the game, Mourinho was clearly delighted at full time. The 63-year-old returned to Madrid in July on a three-year deal, replacing Xabi Alonso who left in January, with Alvaro Arbeloa finishing the season as interim.

Mourinho’s first spell at Real from 2010-2013 brought La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup titles. He now has 26 major trophies to his name, including 3 Premier Leagues with Chelsea and Champions Leagues with Porto and Inter.

Real, who haven’t won a trophy in the past two seasons, also handed debuts to Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva in the starting XI.

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