Coach Jose Mourinho’s team entered the match strongly, and Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in the ninth minute, after heading a perfect cross from Arda Guler into the net.
Kylian Mbappe tried to add the second goal, but goalkeeper Marko Dimitrovic blocked his shot, before Cala equalized for Espanyol half an hour after the start, taking advantage of Javi Hernandez’s cross.
Real Madrid pressed in the second half, and Bellingham almost scored again with a header, but the goalkeeper and the crossbar denied him the goal. Federico Valverde also shot a ball that hit the post in the 78th minute.
In stoppage time, Yann Diomande passed the ball to Mbappe inside the penalty area, but Espanyol’s defense pushed it away to reach Carlos Espe, who followed it into the net and scored the winning goal.
The match witnessed the participation of Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo as starters, while Mark Cucurella, Diomande and Espey made their first official appearance in a Real Madrid shirt.
