{"id":18637,"date":"2026-08-24T09:49:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T06:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/?p=18637"},"modified":"2026-08-24T11:05:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T08:05:48","slug":"real-madrid-beat-espanyol-2-1-as-espi-seals-late-laliga-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/sports-betting-news\/real-madrid-beat-espanyol-2-1-as-espi-seals-late-laliga-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid Beat Espanyol 2-1 as Esp\u00ed Seals Late LaLiga Win"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Real Madrid opened their 2026\/27 LaLiga campaign with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Espanyol<\/strong>, as debutant Carlos Esp\u00ed scored a stoppage-time winner<\/strong> to give Jos\u00e9 Mourinho the perfect start to his second spell in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The victory extended Madrid\u2019s remarkable run to 18 consecutive seasons without defeat in their opening LaLiga fixture<\/strong>, while Mourinho has now won seven successive managerial debuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellingham Gives Real Madrid the Perfect Start<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Real Madrid wasted little time imposing themselves at the RCDE Stadium. Inside the opening 10 minutes, Jude Bellingham<\/strong> rose highest to meet an inviting Arda G\u00fcler free-kick<\/strong>, powering his header beyond Marko Dmitrovi\u0107 for the opening goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madrid’s aggressive pressing initially unsettled Espanyol, but the hosts gradually found their rhythm. Clemens Riedel tested Thibaut Courtois<\/strong> with a powerful long-range strike before Espanyol eventually found their equalizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Javi Hern\u00e1ndez<\/strong> produced an excellent run to the byline before cutting the ball back for \u00c1lex Calatrava<\/strong>, who calmly swept home to make it 1-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both teams had opportunities before half-time. Dmitrovi\u0107 denied Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, while Roberto Fern\u00e1ndez wasted a golden opportunity for Espanyol with a header from close range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Real
Photo Courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Real Madrid Push for the Winner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Madrid regained control after the break and nearly restored their advantage through Bellingham, whose header crashed against the crossbar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mourinho then introduced club-record signing Yan Diomand\u00e9<\/strong> shortly after the hour mark. His arrival almost had an immediate impact, with a deflected cross eventually falling to Federico Valverde<\/strong>, whose effort struck the outside of the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Espanyol continued to frustrate Madrid, while Mbapp\u00e9 endured a difficult evening in front of goal. With the match heading towards a draw, however, Mourinho’s side finally found their breakthrough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlos Esp\u00ed Scores Dramatic Stoppage-Time Winner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The decisive moment arrived in the first minute of stoppage time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debutant Carlos Esp\u00ed reacted quickest to a loose ball inside the penalty area<\/strong>, rounded Dmitrovi\u0107 and fired into the empty net to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The late goal ended Espanyol’s four-match unbeaten LaLiga run and ensured Mourinho began his latest Real Madrid chapter with three valuable points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Real
Photo Courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What the Result Means for Real Madrid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It wasn’t a flawless performance, but winning difficult away matches could prove crucial if Real Madrid are to challenge for the 2026\/27 LaLiga title<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellingham’s influence, G\u00fcler’s creativity and Esp\u00ed’s dream debut provided early positives for Mourinho. Madrid also showed persistence after hitting the woodwork twice and struggling to break down a determined Espanyol defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Espanyol, the defeat will sting after they pushed the Spanish giants until stoppage time, but their performance demonstrated they can compete with LaLiga’s strongest sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow LaLiga Action on Bangbet Kenya<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kenyan football fans can follow the latest LaLiga fixtures, football odds and betting markets on<\/strong> Bangbet<\/strong><\/a> throughout the 2026\/27 season. From Real Madrid and Barcelona matches to other major European leagues, Bangbet<\/a> offers Kenyan players a convenient platform to explore available pre-match and live betting options. Bet<\/strong><\/a> responsibly and only if you are 18+.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Real
Photo Courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Final Verdict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid<\/strong> ultimately belonged to Carlos Esp\u00ed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellingham provided the early breakthrough; Calatrava brought Espanyol back into contention, but Esp\u00ed’s stoppage-time intervention ensured Jos\u00e9 Mourinho’s Real Madrid return began with victory<\/strong>. It was dramatic rather than dominant, but Los Blancos have their first three points on the board\u2014and a potentially memorable new hero.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Real Madrid opened their 2026\/27 LaLiga campaign with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Espanyol, as debutant Carlos Esp\u00ed scored a stoppage-time winner to give Jos\u00e9 Mourinho the perfect start to his second spell in charge. The victory extended Madrid\u2019s remarkable run to 18 consecutive seasons without defeat in their opening LaLiga fixture, while Mourinho has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4563,35,4587,4543,30],"tags":[8420,377,8419,611,6235,2388,2297,2595,8328,1235,8418,1231],"class_list":["post-18637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","category-football-news","category-la-liga","category-sports","category-sports-betting-news","tag-arda-guler-2","tag-bangbet-kenya","tag-carlos-espi","tag-football-betting-kenya","tag-jose-mourinho-2","tag-jude-bellingham","tag-kylian-mbappe","tag-laliga","tag-laliga-2026-27","tag-spanish-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18642,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18637\/revisions\/18642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}