Matches
Bernardo, Konate start in a 4-2-3-1: How Real Madrid can line up against Espanyol
It is finally time. Real Madrid are back in action in La Liga for the first time in the 2026/27 season later tonight as they take on RCD Espanyol away at the RCDE Stadium in what will be Jose Mourinho’s first official match in charge since returning.
After a three-year stint at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2010 and 2013, the Portuguese tactician is back at the club after 13 years, hoping to help the team win trophies after two consecutive underwhelming campaigns.
Florentino Perez & co. have spared no effort in strengthening the squad for Mourinho, with as many as six new signings arriving, while Vinicius Jr. has also signed a new contract after months of speculation.
Heading into the trip to Catalonia today, all six signings are available for Real Madrid, although the manager will still be unable to count on some players such as Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao, Raul Asencio, Endrick, and Aurelien Tchouameni.
Real Madrid go into the game having not lost any of their pre-season fixtures, with their latest friendly ending in a victory over Schalke in Germany.
However, a trip to RCDE Stadium is never easy and Manolo Gonzalez & co. will make life tough for the Spanish capital club tonight.
Ahead of their opening game of the season, here’s how Mourinho could set his Real Madrid team up against the Catalan club.
Defence
Thibaut Courtois is back fit and firing after recovering from the minor injury he sustained with Belgium during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The veteran goalkeeper, therefore, will start in goal as per usual for Real Madrid.
The defensive line will bear a new look as summer arrival Denzel Dumfries is set to get the nod at right-back ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold, having made a solid impression during pre-season.
On the opposite side, fellow new signing Marc Cucurella might have to wait for his chance, having not had enough minutes under his belt in pre-season after returning late. Instead, Alvaro Carreras should get the nod in the lineup.
At the heart of the Real Madrid defence, there will be a fresh centre-back pairing as new arrival Ibrahima Konate appears set to start ahead of Antonio Rudiger after impressing in the Schalke encounter. He will pair up with youngster Dean Huijsen.
Midfield
The midfield department is where Mourinho has some major decisions to make as he looks to find the perfect balance between creativity and solidity.
With Aurelien Tchouameni ruled out, the Real Madrid manager will have to choose three players from Bernardo Silva, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler, Jude Bellingham, and youngster Jorge Cestero.
And, as things stand, everything indicates that Bernardo will start as one of the pivots, having shown he can make things tick from the deeper midfield position. Partnering him, in all likelihood, should be club captain Valverde.
As for the attacking midfield role, while Bellingham will eventually take over as the regular starter, given that he has not had enough minutes under his belt since returning, it will be Guler who will be starting against Espanyol.
Attack
Moving further up the pitch, Kylian Mbappe will be thrust straight into the starting XI in the centre-forward role after his goalscoring return to action against Schalke.
On the left side will be Vinicius Jr., with Mourinho facing the huge challenge of getting the two Real Madrid superstar forwards to operate on the same wavelength.
Finally, on the right, it is likely that Brahim Diaz gets the nod tonight against Espanyol, ahead of summer signing Yan Diomande, who will have to wait for his opportunity.
Fellow new arrival Carlos Espi, too, will likely come off the bench at some point in the second half.
Not many saw the result that unfolded at the Estadio de La Cartuja last night coming, as Real Madrid slipped to a shocking 1-0 defeat to Real Betis.
Jose Mourinho made a couple of changes to his team on the night but fielded one of his strongest possible XIs, acknowledging the difficulty of the challenge Los Verdiblancos posed.
The first half ended scoreless, with the visitors completely dominating the flow of the game but failing to convert their chances. After the break, they only upped the ante and pressed higher to break the deadlock.
Almost against the flow of the game, however, Troy Parrott fired from very close range to put his side ahead through a set-piece, and Real Madrid had just ten minutes to find two goals.
A hard-fought ten minutes, a disallowed goal and a missed penalty later, however, the full-time whistle blew with Real Madrid staring at defeat.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Betis 1-0 Real Madrid.
A first loss under Mourinho
Real Madrid’s lacunae were visible in the team’s first away clash of the new season when they took home a last-gasp win over Espanyol.
They looked comfortable at home, but it has always been clear that they are not invincible.
A first defeat of the season, in that sense, was always just a matter of time as the team continued to develop under Jose Mourinho, and that setback appeared early in the campaign last night.
The defeat to Real Betis at the Estadio de La Cartuja continued Real Madrid’s trend of struggling away from home and exposed the team’s lacunae to the world once more.
A lot can be said about the refereeing and how the result was harsh on Los Blancos, but the fact of the matter remains that a team with the talent that Real Madrid possesses simply has no excuses to look so blunt in attack.
Jose Mourinho’s men created chances in abundance on the night, but none of the team’s star forwards could effectively finish a single chance.
Kylian Mbappe had a rare off-night and even Jude Bellingham did not score from any of his three shots. Vinicius Jr., Arda Guler, Yan Diomande and Carlos Espi all had their chances, but all failed to bury even a single chance.
In the end, it can be called misfortune, but for Real Madrid to have made nothing of an xG of 3.46 and to miss a penalty in the same game has to be dug into. The players did not play poorly, but the lack of a lethal finish came back to bite them.
Mbappe’s controversial penalty
Real Madrid had a massive chance to salvage something from the frustrating night in the 94th minute when the referee awarded the visitors a penalty that would see them return to level terms.
Kylian Mbappe stepped up, and it was taken for granted that the Frenchman would score as usual. Astonishingly, however, Mbappe did not find the back of the net.
For starters, it must be said that the Merengues have no one to blame but themselves for the defeat to Real Betis, for they could not have had a clearer chance to steal at least a point away from the night.
However, there was a clear element of controversy in the spot-kick that must not be misinterpreted as an excuse.
At the precise moment that Mbappe struck the ball from the spot, a Real Betis player was half inside the penalty area with his foot in the air.
Had the player’s foot been on the ground, the penalty would certainly have been retaken, and had he been outside the area, the save would be deemed completely fair. His foot being airborne, yet inside the box, however, opens up a grey area.
The referee on the night believed that having the foot in the air did not warrant a retake, and saw Real Madrid lose their penalty.
However, there are strong grounds to claim that it should have been retaken as his foot being inside the box takes precedence over whether it was grounded or not.
Had the referee’s decision gone differently, one would have backed Mbappe to come good the second time and Real Madrid would have avoided the defeat.
Alvaro Valles deserves his flowers
For Real Madrid to create seven big chances, have 20 shots and an xG of 3.46, and yet not score is simply absurd. But it happened last night against Los Verdiblancos, and only one man stood in between Real Madrid and the scoresheet – Alvaro Valles.
The Real Betis goalkeeper delivered the performance of his lifetime as he stopped chance after chance and denied the visitors any sight of goal.
In 90 minutes, Valles made a staggering six saves, all of which came from inside the box, and prevented a direct xG of 2.98. In simpler terms, Real Madrid should have scored three goals past him with the quality of chances they had, but he directly stopped them all.
Further, Valles saved Mbappe’s penalty under the highest of pressure in a moment that was simply the crowning moment of his entire night.
On a different night, with a different goalkeeper, the outcome of the game could well have been very different.
Valles, however, deserves every bit of praise he is earning for his performance last night, and even Real Madrid fans have no option but to stand and applaud the shift he put in for ninety minutes.
