Real Madrid strike late to give José Mourinho winning return - ESPN

José Mourinho's second spell in charge of Real Madrid got off to a winning start, thanks to new signing Carlos Espí's 90th-minute goal to snatch a 2-1 victory at Espanyol.

The Portuguese coach, taking charge of Madrid for the first time in 13 years after being reappointed for a second time this summer, looked set to endure a frustrating start to the LaLiga season.

«I think we deserved to win. But Espanyol didn't deserve to lose,» Mourinho told reporters. «In the second half we had good control, pressure, we risked a lot, we deserved to win.»

After England midfielder Jude Bellingham put Madrid into a ninth-minute lead in Barcelona, Cala put the hosts level on the half-hour mark.

But as the clock ticked toward stoppage time, Espí pounced after Kylian Mbappé had been knocked off the ball, firing past Marko Dmitrovic to get his first Madrid goal just 10 minutes after entering the game as a substitute.

The 21-year-old Espí was one of the standouts of LaLiga last season and Madrid reportedly paid Levante €25 million ($28 million) to sign him. Saturday's goal was his 11th in LaLiga since Feb. 27, the most by any player in the league in that span.

«He's living a dream but he doesn't work like someone on the moon, he works a lot for the team,» Mourinho said. «The goal decides everything.»

Mourinho also handed starting debuts to Marc Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries and Bernardo Silva — the first time Madrid have started three debutantes in their opening LaLiga game since 2009, when Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema made their bows.

Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, who joined Madrid from RB Leipzig as the club's biggest summer signing for an initial €125 million ($146 million), made his debut as a second-half replacement for