Top prospect Carlos Espi saved Real Madrid at the start of the season. The stars, on the other hand, mostly disappointed during the debut of the old and new coach José Mourinho—or simply stood by and watched.
Alliterations don’t always have to be perfect. The main thing is that they fit, at least somewhat. Which is definitely the case with Carlos Espi. He arrived from Levante for a transfer fee of “only” 25 million euros, made an impact (even though he didn’t come on until the 80th minute of Real Madrid’s season opener against Espanyol Barcelona)—and secured the victory. In the final minute of regulation time, he scored the 2–1 winner for Los Blancos with a clever and clinical finish. Veni, vidi, vici, as they say. Or in “New Spanish”: veni, vidi, Espi.
Real’s new-old coach, José Mourinho, wasn’t just celebrating on the field with and for the 21-year-old center forward, who had already scored 11 goals in 25 league games for Levante last season—and now did so within minutes of making his competitive debut for Real. Mourinho, back on the Madrid bench after 13 years: “He’s a fun guy; we’re actually living together right now in the sports village in Valdebebas.”
Just for the record: When Mourinho began his first tenure at Real in 2010, Espi was just five years old. Whether a 25-million-euro transfer fee is a lot or a little given that context is up for debate. In any case, the situation is remarkable.
On Sunday, the player was officially presented by President Florentino Pérez. Mourinho: “What a way to be introduced—right after a winning goal like that. He’s living a dream right now, but he’s working incredibly hard for it.” Even veteran goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois says: “It’s impressive how he holds his own in training against big names like Antonio Rüdiger or Ibrahima Konaté—he’s a beast; we call him Joselu Junior.”
Already, the lanky, 1.94-meter-tall forward is considered the legitimate successor to the legendary Joselu, who once played unremarkably in Germany for Hoffenheim, Frankfurt, and Hannover—but in the 2023–24 season scored 17 goals for Real in 49 competitive matches, most memorably the two that sealed a 2–1 victory in the Champions League semifinal second leg against Bayern Munich, when—just like Espi now—he came on as a substitute about ten minutes before the end of the game and turned the match around. Real then claimed its 15th—and, to date, last—Champions League title in the final against Dortmund.
Mbappé and Vinicius Junior revealed old problems
Real is still a long way from that, even with Espi. Not just because the season has only just begun, but also because, even under Mourinho, the team has barely improved compared to the title-less 2025–26 season. As usual, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior are reluctant to participate in the counter-pressing, which Mourinho commented on with rare diplomacy: “To press the way I envision it, we still need to put in a lot more training kilometers.”
As usual, the midfield also lacked an organizer of the caliber of Toni Kroos—a role that new signing Bernardo Silva, who played alongside Fede Valverde in the double-six in Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1 system, was initially unable to fill. Arda Güler was one of the best; he provided the assist for Jude Bellingham’s early goal, but—just like last season—was the first to be subbed out. Quite baffling. And as usual, the defense faltered on the goal conceded, with Dean Huijsen and the new signing from Liverpool—former Leipzig player Konaté—starting in central defense. Veteran Antonio Rüdiger, in any case, watched the game from the bench after apparently suffering from knee pain before the match.
In the end, all six new signings played: Denzel Dumfries (from Inter), Konaté, Silva, World Cup champion Marc Cucurella (from Chelsea), Espi, and former Leipzig player Yan Diomande (who came on for Güler after an hour). But aside from Espi’s goal, what stood out most was the absence of World Cup champion Rodri, who chose to leave Manchester City for Barcelona at his own request. Because that’s exactly the kind of player they needed.
Mourinho summed it up this way: “Rodri would have been the icing on the cake, but we won’t have any problems even without him.”