Real Madrid beat Espanyol 2-1 on 8 August 2026. Jude Bellingham opened the scoring with a header from an Arda Güler cross and Carlos Espí netted the decisive goal in the 90th minute.
A win built on mentality
Bellingham, who played a key role in the match, said the victory was a demonstration of the mentality that should characterize the team throughout the campaign. “We played a very good game, we created many chances to score the second, but that was a mental victory,” he said. The midfielder highlighted the team’s unity as one of the main positive aspects of the Madrid debut. “We’re together in everything. For me that’s the most important thing in football. Being together in all moments, whether it’s hard or good, always together, that’s important,” he added.
Comparison with Joselu
Bellingham compared Carlos Espí to Joselu, who played a pivotal role during his loan at Real Madrid in the 2023-24 season, appearing in 49 matches and scoring 18 goals. Joselu won the fans’ affection with his performance in the Champions League semi-finals against Bayern Munich, where he came off the bench to score both goals that allowed Madrid to overturn the tie and reach the final. Now, Carlos Espí is writing a similar story: he came on late in the match against Espanyol and, just minutes later, found the back of the net for the 2-1 win.
Training work
Bellingham revealed that the first-goal play was something the team had worked on during the week’s training, as explained by José Mourinho. “Yes, we’ve worked on that in training this week, very good Arda ball, the others’ movements, creating space for me and, well, it was an easy goal, right?” he said.
The match marked the start of the 2026-27 season with a win that showcased the blend of individual talent and collective effort under José Mourinho.
