Jose Mourinho began his second spell as Real Madrid manager in dramatic fashion as his side secured a thrilling 2-1 victory over Espanyol with a 90th-minute winner, according to BBC Sport.
Real Madrid made a fast start when England midfielder Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in the ninth minute, heading home Arda Guler’s wide free-kick.
Espanyol responded in the 30th minute as summer signing Cala tapped in Javi Hernandez’s cut-back at the far post to level the contest.
Real dominated large spells of the match and came close to reclaiming the lead on several occasions. Bellingham saw a powerful header tipped onto the bar by Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic, while Federico Valverde’s curling effort struck the base of the post.
Mourinho then turned to his bench, introducing a number of new signings and attacking options, including Carlos Espi, Marc Cucurella, Yan Diomande and England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The changes eventually paid off in the 90th minute. Diomande found Kylian Mbappe inside the box, and after the ball fell invitingly to debutant Espi, the Spanish forward calmly finished to give Real Madrid a dramatic victory.
The result provided an ideal start to Mourinho’s return to the Spanish giants. The 63-year-old was appointed on a three-year deal in July, returning to the club more than a decade after his first spell, which began in 2010 and lasted three seasons.
Mourinho won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during his first tenure. He has also collected 26 major official trophies throughout his managerial career, including three Premier League titles with Chelsea and Champions League triumphs with Porto and Inter Milan.
Real Madrid will hope the late victory marks the beginning of a successful new era after going without a trophy in their previous two seasons. The club parted ways with Xabi Alonso in January, with Alvaro Arbeloa taking temporary charge until the end of the campaign.
For Mourinho, however, the message from his first competitive match back at the Bernabeu was clear: the Special One is back, and Real Madrid have started their new chapter with a dramatic win.
