Jose Mourinho’s first official match of his second spell at Real Madrid ended with the kind of finish he would have appreciated.Carlos Espi, their most under-the-radar summer signing from Levante, scored in the 90th minute to secure a 2-1 victory against an Espanyol side who made life uncomfortable for Mourinho’s team after half-time.Jude Bellingham gave Madrid an early lead with a header after nine minutes, but Espanyol midfielder Alex Calatrava equalised in the 30th minute and exposed some of the issues that remain for Madrid.“We deserved to win, but Espanyol didn’t deserve to lose,” Mourinho said. “They didn’t have any players at the World Cup (playing last night) and you can see it in the intensity of their game.”Here are the main takeaways from Mourinho’s first competitive game back — including what is working and what still needs fixing.Can this iteration of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙅𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙤 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 be a success at Real Madrid?Tom WilliamsBellingham sets the benchmarkBellingham only joined up with the group a week before this trip to Barcelona to face Espanyol, making him the last of Madrid’s 15 players at the World Cup to return.Despite that, Mourinho made clear just how central Bellingham is to his plans by starting the England midfielder as the No 10 in his 4-2-3-1 formation. That pushed summer signing Bernardo Silva into a deep midfield role and Arda Guler out to the right.Bellingham’s influence was immediately noticeable. The 23-year-old was incisive between the lines, while Madrid’s build-up looked more coherent when he was involved, including when they played out from the back.He made his usual runs into the box and his opening goal was reminiscent of his first, 23-goal season at Madrid: a powerful header from a perfectly measured Guler free kick from the left. In the 52nd minute, he produced another header that was kept out by Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.(David Ramos/Getty Images)As ever, and despite playing as a No 10, Bellingham was heavily involved defensively. But towards the end of the first half, it became increasingly clear he was not at full physical capacity. Madrid’s intensity levels then dropped in the second half.Mourinho kept him on until the 79th minute, choosing instead to replace Bernardo and Guler in the 63rd minute, even though both appeared to have more energy left in the tank than Bellingham.“I had doubts about whether to start him or bring him on later,” Mourinho said. “I don’t know if I made the right decision, but physically and mentally he is very strong.“He needs to play close to the goal. He can play as a No 6 or a No 8, but he loses that proximity to the goal. When he is in top physical condition, he can give you a complete 90 minutes. We are getting to know each other, and it is better to do that without dropping points.”The club hierarchy see him as a key figure to lead the team this season. Performances like yesterday’s help explain why.Galactico power, but little balanceThere was considerable anticipation around Madrid’s new signings, particularly Yan Diomande — the 19-year-old winger who joined from RB Leipzig in a deal worth up to a club record €140million (£119m; $161m).With only a handful of training sessions under his belt and 30 minutes of pre-season friendly action against Schalke 04 last Sunday, Mourinho kept the Ivory Coast international on the bench until the 63rd minute, when he replaced Guler.At 1-1, there was plenty of expectation that Diomande might change the game. Instead, he looked restricted on the right wing, taking few risks and completing one of three attempted dribbles.The bigger concern was how Madrid looked once their three most dangerous attackers were on the pitch. As has happened too often in previous seasons, the forwards offered little defensive protection in the second half and the team became stretched.It was evident during an Espanyol transition in the 69th minute, when Bellingham, Diomande and Kylian Mbappe all failed to track back. And again in the 89th, when Espi, Vinicius Junior and Mbappe stayed high up the pitch.There was lots of expectation around Yan Diomande (Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)“We took a lot of risks,” Mourinho said of the second half.Madrid were able to survive the imbalance in part because of their centre-back pairing. Dean Huijsen and Ibrahima Konate produced the sort of performance that prevented Espanyol from making more of those spaces.Perhaps most worryingly for Mourinho, the lack of defensive work did not translate into greater attacking output.Mbappe missed two glaring one-vs-one chances in the first half — and the France captain’s second half was not much better.Vinicius Jr’s attacking contribution was even less impressive, with just one, off-target shot in the second half. The recently-renewed forward was fouled eight times, which included a challenge from Calatrava off the ball shortly before Espanyol’s equaliser.“He’s not a saint, but what they do to him is too much,” Mourinho said in his defence. “It has become a pattern and it happens from one opponent to another. One player does it, then another.“He gets frustrated and he needs to have emotional control. I’ve worked on that with him. I told him, ‘If you score a goal, be careful’. We’re in an era of anti-bullying and, with Vinicius, it’s bullying.”None of the much-hyped attacking trio performed at the level expected. And Madrid lacked a midfielder capable of bringing structure and order to all that talent — might Rodri have made a difference?‘Joselu Jr’ is bornWith Madrid’s galacticos failing to shine, it fell to Espi to provide the spark.The 21-year-old has won over his team-mates, manager and Madrid supporters in less than a month after his €25million arrival. He scored twice in pre-season — more than any other Madrid player — and continued that run with a crucial winner at the RCDE Stadium.Espi had barely been involved after coming on in the 79th minute. But when his moment arrived, he did not waste it. He reacted to a loose ball inside the box before anyone else, rounded Dimitrovic and calmly slotted home.(Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Sources within the coaching staff — who, like others cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — say this is precisely what Madrid signed him to do. The 6ft 4in (194cm) Espi is already reminding his team-mates of another former Madrid striker who was a traditional No 9.“Carlos Espi is a beast,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois told reporters in the mixed zone. “Seeing him in training going up against Konate, (Antonio) Rudiger and those guys is impressive. He has talent, he’s very strong and he’s a player we didn’t have in the squad. He’s Joselu Jr, as we call him.”Espi scored 11 times for a Levante side who survived relegation last season and has a knack for scoring important goals. But he has also fitted in well in his short time at the Bernabeu, with players such as Marc Cucurella and Bellingham seen closely interacting with him in the build-up to this game.“He’s a very funny guy. We live together, we have breakfast and dinner together — me, my staff, him and Cucu,” Mourinho said.“It’s a fun group. Imagine being presented tomorrow (Sunday, when Espi’s official Madrid presentation will take place). What a way to be presented. The boy is living a dream, but he doesn’t work as if he’s living on another planet. He works very hard.”Same old Mourinho?Mourinho had appeared unusually calm in his first press conference before the Espanyol game — to the point where there were shades of former Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. But there was a catch.“For the first XI, let’s see which of you journalists has the best contacts,” Mourinho challenged reporters in the press room. “The players already know who is playing. I’m not someone who hides things. Maybe in a couple of hours your information will arrive. I’m not going to tell you.”No journalist managed — or dared — to predict his XI. Sources at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground warned The Athletic to be careful, adding “Mourinho finds out everything”.When the starting XI was released, there were several surprises: Denzel Dumfries was in ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, while Alvaro Carreras got the nod over Cucurella, the €60million signing from Chelsea, on the left.Once the game began, it took Mourinho just 11 minutes to show his old instincts. When he felt referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez was failing to clamp down on Espanyol’s physical approach, the 63-year-old sprinted towards fourth official Pablo Monterrubio to demand an explanation. He did not spend much time in his technical area.When Huijsen was forced off the pitch to receive treatment for a cut to his head, temporarily leaving Madrid with 10 men, Mourinho hurried the doctors and physios along. In the second half, increasingly concerned as time ran out, he urged Dumfries to get on with a throw-in.And, even after the winner, he used the pause offered by the celebrations to give Federico Valverde a telling-off over his positioning. At the final whistle, he produced a fist-pump.Nobody wanted to miss the official start to the new Mourinho era. More than 100 photographers crowded around the Portuguese coach on the pitch before kick-off, while he was the only Madrid figure to receive sustained cheers from the travelling supporters.This was his day.