Bellingham 8.0, Mbappe 5.5 | Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid: Player ratings | OneFootball

Real Madrid were made to work very hard for the victory in their first match of the 2026-27 La Liga season, as they won 2-1 at Espanyol on Saturday night. Jude Bellingham’s early goal was cancelled out by Alex Calatrava, and while it had looked like that would be it, debutant Carlos Espi struck in the 90th minute to seal the three points for Jose Mourinho’s side.

It was a typical early-season performance from Real Madrid, with a lot of hard work but not much quality. Clearly, it will take time to build confidence on the back of two disappointing seasons in a row, but they can take the positives from the victory at the RCDE Stadium into their next match, which is against Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Player ratings

Thibaut Courtois – 6/10

The Belgian stopper did not have much to do. He made two saves, including an important one at the end of the first half to stop Espanyol taking the lead, but he could do little about the home side’s equaliser on the half hour mark.

Denzel Dumfries – 6/10

Signing Dumfries to replace Dani Carvajal was a risky move by Real Madrid, as they now have two right-backs with major defensive deficiencies. The Dutchman’s were exposed at the Espanyol goal, which came from his side, although he was probing in attack.

Ibrahima Konate – 7.5/10

Konate can be very pleased with his Real Madrid debut. While he was in no-man’s land for Espanyol’s goal, he made up for it with a dominant performance on the whole, which will have pleased Mourinho a lot.

Dean Huijsen – 7/10

Preferred to Antonio Rudiger in defence, and while he had some shaky moments that were reminiscent of last season, he did well.

Alvaro Carreras – 6.5/10

A solid enough performance from Carreras, although it’s unlikely to have been enough for him to up his chances of being preferred to Marc Cucurella anytime soon.

Federico Valverde – 7/10

Real Madrid’s new club captain put in a captain’s performance in Barcelona, contributing well in defence and attack. However, he did fail to track Calatrava’s run for the Espanyol goal, which losing him a rating or two.

Bernardo Silva – 6.5/10

Not a particularly great debut from Silva, and if anything, it highlights exactly what losing out on Rodri was such a big blow for Real Madrid. The Portuguese will be fine, but he’s arguably not someone that should be a regular starter, especially in a deeper role.

Arda Guler – 8/10

Guler was used on the right by Mourinho, a position that he has barely featured in since joining Real Madrid. However, he could be used there a lot this season, as he was one of the star performers at the RCDE Stadium, grabbing the assist for Bellingham’s early goal before almost getting a second when the Englishman was denied in the second half.

Jude Bellingham – 8.5/10

This was a Bellingham performance from the 2023-24 season, and it was no surprise too, given that Mourinho used him in a role that Ancelotti did during that campaign. He headed in the opener after nine minutes, and he came so close to a second after half time, while his all-round play was excellent, as it usually is.

Vinicius Junior – 6/10

12/16 duels won shows that Vinicius did well against Espanyol, but as was the case many times last season, he lacked effectiveness in the final third. His final ball was below-par, and he never looked like scoring.

Kylian Mbappe – 5.5/10

Mbappe was clearly very rusty, which makes sense considering he barely had a pre-season. He never looked like troubling the Espanyol defence, up until a probing run ended with Espi scoring the winning goal.

Substitutes

Marc Cucurella – 6.5/10

Cucurella was very assured when he came on, which should be a sign of things to come in his Real Madrid career.

Yan Diomande – 6/10

Tried to make an impression on his Real Madrid debut, but the truth is that he lacked effectiveness.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6/10

Looked threatening on the right side when he came on.

Eduardo Camavinga – 6/10

Having looked like leaving for much of the summer, Camavinga will need to make the most of his opportunities if he is to count for Mourinho. On this occasion, he competed pretty well.

Carlos Espi – 7/10

What a debut for the 21-year-old, who was dangerous during his 15-minute cameo, which was capped off with a poacher’s finish to seal the three points for Real Madrid.