Mourinho’s first Real Madrid league match in 13 years is at Espanyol, six days after everyone else started
Madrid are six days behind the rest of La Liga because of the World Cup, and Jose Mourinho begins his second spell without Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Raul Asencio and Ferland Mendy.
Aug 22, 2026
Jose Mourinho takes charge of a Real Madrid league match for the first time in 13 years on Saturday night, and he does it on Barcelona’s outskirts. Madrid open their season away at Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium, 9.30pm local time, which is 1am IST on Sunday for anyone in India planning to stay up for it.
Everyone else has already played
Madrid are six days behind the rest of La Liga. Their opening-round fixture was pushed back because so many of their players were still involved in the 2026 World Cup in North America, and the league agreed to give them the extra recovery time. The home match against Real Sociedad that would have been their first game has been moved to Wednesday, 26 August at the Bernabeu.
So Mourinho’s side arrive at a ground where the hosts have already got a win in the bank, with the visitors’ only recent competitive rhythm coming from pre-season. That is not a crisis. It is a slightly awkward way to start.
Espanyol are not an easy first fixture
Espanyol beat Levante 3-0 at home on 16 August in the opening round, which is roughly the best possible way for a mid-table side to begin. They will fancy the occasion too. Their last meeting with Madrid, in May, ended with Vinicius Junior scoring twice to keep Madrid’s title hopes alive going into El Clasico, so there is something to settle.
Manolo Gonzalez’s side are without Kike Garcia and Javi Puado through injury, and Leandro Cabrera is suspended. Edu Exposito is a doubt. Losing three of that group thins out a squad that does not have much depth to spare.
Madrid’s absentees
Mourinho is missing Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Raul Asencio and Ferland Mendy, with Jude Bellingham’s fitness due to be assessed before kick-off. That is a lot of it in defence, and it means the back line that starts is unlikely to be the one Mourinho has in mind for the season.
The summer brought in Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, Denzel Dumfries from Inter, Bernardo Silva on a free from Manchester City, Ibrahima Konate on a free from Liverpool and Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig. That is a rebuilt spine bought for a manager who was appointed on 11 June on a deal running to June 2029, after Florentino Perez made his return a centrepiece of a contested presidential election.
What to actually watch for
The interesting question is not whether Madrid win. It is what Mourinho’s Madrid looks like in a first competitive 90 minutes, because the version of him that left in 2013 and the version that has spent the years since at Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Roma, Fenerbahce and Benfica are not obviously the same manager. He said on arrival that he was there to build a culture of work, responsibility and ambition, which is the sort of line that only means something once you can see it on a pitch.
A front line with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius in it should score enough to make most evenings comfortable regardless of how the shape settles. Whether that tells anyone much about the season is a different matter. Openers rarely do.